Challenge of the Planeswalkers (Discontinued)
by Madness King
Summary: Rated T to be safe. Nathan is a college student who was introduced to the game of Magic by his brother, who has not been heard from in two years. Surprisingly, so does his teacher, Mr. Fulton. But after one game, Nathan will begin to see the world in a new way. New worlds, new possibilities, and new dangers will open up to him.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, I have yet another new story. Not only that, but yet ****_another _****story after this will be published. This was made a while ago (and by a while I mean around the start of the year) and it's been getting worked on ever since. It's already in it's fourth or fifth chapter, so I won't have to worry about not updating in a long time. But for now, R&amp;R, PM, and Enjoy.**

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Chapter 1

"Here little bro, I got you this." Nathan was handed a small deck box, and he opened it. Dumping the contents into his hand, he found they were trading cards. "Keep these as a way of remembering me." Nathan looked up at his older brother, Justin, and thanked him for the cards. Justin had taught him how to play a few weeks ago, using one of his "test decks". Nathan often called them "junk decks" because he always lost when he used them.

But his brother always said, "It isn't about the cards, Nathan. The game is one part chance, one part skill, and one part heart. Take away any one of those, and you'll find yourself losing every time." That was two years ago, before Justin had to leave for college. Justin went to a four year art school, which accepted only the best artists and helped them get the best jobs; and to Nathan, Justin was the best. Justin had gotten Nathan into a lot of things before he left: TV shows, music, video games, and most of all, card games.

Nathan loved the game play and strategy, but loved the artwork more. Nathan played all sorts of games, but was dedicated to mastering Magic: The Gathering first. Before Justin left for college, Nathan promised he would practice and strengthen his deck, so that when he came back from college he could beat him. But just like how he left two years ago, no one had heard from him for two years. Even during the holiday seasons when he was required to leave the dorms, he never came back home. His mother thought he had already found a place to live, and was working on his own projects. But why didn't he contact them about the good news? Surely he would have done so when he moved in. Nathan sighed, right now that didn't matter.

Because now he was about to go to college himself. He would be going to a smaller, two year college, but he didn't mind. At least he would be able to graduate about the same time as his brother. Nathan was unloading his car, taking out a laundry basket filled with clothes. "Last one," he said to himself. He set the basket down on the sidewalk and closed his trunk. He picked the basket back up and carried it into the apartment room that he would be living in for the next two years. He had two other roommates, and they had already discussed the room arrangements. It was a four person-apartment so his roommates would share a room while Nathan got a room to himself.

He opened the apartment door and saw one of his roommates, Carter, stocking the fridge with the food we all purchased beforehand. Carter was a large guy, with short black hair and a beard. Nathan walked past the kitchen and went into his room. He set the basket down and began to hang them up in the closet or place them in the dresser. After getting all of his clothes put up, he took the empty laundry basket and slid it under his bed. He looked around his new room, which was a bit small. It still held two beds, one right next to the window and the other lined up against the same wall the window was. There were also two dressers, one next to the second bed and the other in the closet. On the second bed, since he had the room to himself, he had placed some of his stuff on top of it until he got everything put away.

He set the basket down and sat on his recently made bed. It felt odd to Nathan, being away from his home. But he pushed the sad feelings back, he was in college now. It was time to man up. He left his room and almost ran into his second roommate, Luke.

Luke was the kind of person you'd think would end up as a street punk, with messy, sometimes oddly cut, hair and tattoos that covered his entire right arm. His black hair was now in a mohawk style, but instead of standing straight up it was laying flat against the left side of his head, the rest of his hair starting to grow back. Nathan let Luke pass, and Luke wordlessly went out the door. Even though college was set to start the very next day, Nathan already knew Luke lived only a few miles away and he already had a job. What it was he couldn't say for sure, but his shift started in the afternoon.

He walked into the kitchen and asked Carter, "Hey, you finished?" Carter pulled his head out of the fridge, and nodded. "Your stuff is at the bottom," he said, pointing at the bottom drawers, "in those cabinets," he pointed his finger over to two cabinets above the sink, "and in here," he opened the freezer and Nathan walked over as he waved his finger back and forth along the bottom of the freezer.

"Alright, I'm gonna head out for a walk," Nathan said. Carter nodded, shutting the fridge doors. Nathan went to his room while Carter went to his, and Nathan pulled out some comfortable clothes. He put on black and white gym shorts, a white t-shirt with a black and white cross with wings design on the front, and a college cap he purchased during a college visit. It wasn't the same college he was currently going to, but it was one of his choices. Before leaving, he quickly dug through his bags and found his deckbox. He opened it to find his Magic deck in card sleeves. Theros had been out for a while, and his card sleeves were from Born of the Gods, depicting Xenagos ascending into godhood. He pocketed his cards and grabbed his keys for the apartment. He left his room and went out the door.

One of the good things about his college was that they provided an apartment for you, one that was part of a community reserved for students. And the best part was the school was right across from the apartments. Nathan exited the building and inhaled the already chilling air. He let out a breath and began walking. As he walked, he saw other students who were attending the college. His school was divided into three main programs: Business, Design and Technology, and Health Care. Nathan was in the Design and Technology program, more specifically the Design side. Nathan went to this college mainly as a stepping stone, to get some basic experience before he started going for bigger goals. Nathan looked around as he entered the rest of the community, entire families going about their day to day lives. There was a small lake that was surrounded by some of the apartments, and another smaller pond near the back with Willow trees.

Nathan took out his deck box and shifted through the cards. He noted the colors: black, red, and green, the colors of Jund. Nathan was more familiar with this deck type than anything else. He knew of Naya-red, green, and white-and Grixis-blue, black, and red-the most, and then learned about Bant-green, white, and blue-after purchasing a booster pack, but did not learn about Esper-white, blue, and black-until quite some time ago. He looked through his cards until he found one in particular; Flameblast Dragon. It was a powerful creature, with both power and toughness at five. It also had a decent ability, though he never used it before.

He slid the cards back into his deck box and continued walking until he reached his apartment building once again. He walked into his apartment and saw someone talking with Carter. He was a tall man, a few inches taller than Nathan, who wore business casual clothing along with a white trilby hat and a gray jacket slung over his shoulder. As soon as he entered, the man turned and Nathan got a better look at him. The man had pale skin, with a salt and pepper beard that ran along his jawline. He had light hazel eyes, a large nose, and he had short black hair in dreadlocks.

"You must be Nathan," the man said in a deep, slightly gruff voice. Nathan nodded and walked up to him, holding out his hand for a handshake.

"Yeah, that's me. Who are you?"

"My name is Alexander Fulton. I'm a teacher at this college, and as I understand it you'll be one of my students." He shook Nathan's hand, and Nathan was trying to keep his hand firm. One thing he learned was the firm handshake, and how it made you look professional, but this guy was practically crushing his hand.

Fulton finally let go and said, "A strong grip you have there. That's a good sign." Nathan let go of the his hand, but Fulton still kept a good grip on him. Nathan looked at Fulton and saw he was staring at him, his eyes squinted like he was trying to see him better. Fulton finally let go of his hand and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you tommorrow." Nathan nodded and moved out of the way so Fulton could leave. He gave one last smile to Nathan before he left the apartment and Nathan closed the door behind him.

"Well that was weird," Carter said.

"Tell me about it," Nathan said, letting out a breath and leaning against the door.

"I think I'll turn in early." Nathan pushed off from the door and headed into his room. After closing the door to his room, he began digging through his bags until he found an alarm clock. He pulled it out and plugged it in, setting the time, about 8:30, and the alarm, 7:00. After that, he lied down on his bed and drifted off to sleep.

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**I know its a rough start, but trust me, it will pick up.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. So I've decided to update this story, along with The Life of a Pirate again. I feel like just because it's the first chapter, neither of these stories have gotten much attention. I said that the story would pick up, and it should actually reach a small peak in chapter 3. I'm still trying to figure out some mechanics in my story, but I won't let you, my wonderful readers who I thank for taking the time to read my stories and have also inspired me to keep going, worry about that. Instead, all you just need to do is R&amp;R, PM, and Enjoy!**

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Chapter 2

The next day, college had begun for Nathan. Nathan met all of his classmates, people who had similar interests as him. Alexander Fulton was their teacher, just like he said yesterday. He was wearing the white trilby hat and the gray jacket, both of which he took off after entering the room. Mr. Fulton started class off like most classes do on the first day; each student stood up, said their name and where they were from as well as one interesting thing about them. When it came to Nathan, he said his name, that he was from a small town in Indiana and that his brother influenced his college choice. Mr. Fulton nodded and the remaining introductions went by fast.

The rest of the day went by just as fast and they were dismissed early from class. Nathan, after gathering up his things into his bag, decided to hang back in the student lounge. He sat down at one of the circular tables and brought out his Magic deck, shifting through the cards once again.

"Hey," Nathan looked up and saw one of his classmates sit down in front of him. He was a skinny guy with sand blonde and streaks of dull red hair. He wore a red polo shirt and white dress pants. "You play the game?" Nathan nodded, and his classmate, Michael if he remembered his name correctly, pulled out his own deck box.

"Wanna play a round?" Nathan hesitated for a moment then nodded. The two began shuffling their decks and Nathan noticed Michael had a smug look on his face. "Before we begin, I'd like to know what deck type you'll be playing. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." Nathan hesitated again, thinking about the pros and cons of telling him his deck, and finally said, "Jund deck."

Michael snickered a bit, and said, "Seriously? Three-color? Nobody uses those anymore, not since Return to Ravnica. But since you told me yours, my deck is a Rakdos Vampira." Nathan knew a Rakdos deck was a combination of Red and Black, two of his deck colors, and he guessed Vampira meant vampires. Nathan and Michael traded decks and cut them, then returned them.

Nathan drew his seven and asked, "Mulligan rules?"

"The first mulligan you can keep a hand of seven, but second and after you have to lower it by one." Nathan nodded and shuffled his hand into his deck again, then redrew. Michael did the same and smiled at his new hand. Nathan noticed some people were looking in their direction, and could have sworn he also saw Mr. Fulton in the mix.

"Okay, let's begin!"

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"N-No way!" Michael stared at the field layed out in front of him; Nathan had three creatures-Wildheart Invoker, Jungle Weaver, and Carrion Thrash-while he only had one tapped creature.

"I tap Kazandu Refuge and Rakdos Guildgate for two red mana and play Pyretic Ritual, giving me three red mana. Then, I use all three red mana and tap one Mountain and four Forests to activate Wildheart Invoker's ability. I give the power and toughness boost to Carrion Thrash and sweep for nine damage."

Michael groaned in disappointment as his remaining seven life dropped to zero. "Well, you beat me," Michael said. By the end of the game, quite a few students had gathered around the two to watch. "I must admit, you made a pretty good comeback. I almost had you." Michael had managed to reduce Nathan to five life before Nathan was able to bring out both Jungle Weaver, preventing Michael's Rakish Heir from using it's equipped Fleetfeather Sandals, and Wildheart Invoker in two turns.

"Well, that was a good game," Michael said, standing up to leave. "I'll see you around." The crowd of students also left as well, and Nathan began shuffling his deck again before putting it away. However, before he did, Mr. Fulton sat down in front of him, with his own Magic deck.

"Mind if I play you?" Nathan was surprised Mr. Fulton played Magic as well, and Nathan pulled his deck back out. While they were shuffling, Mr. Fulton said, "I overheard you used a Jund deck, so I should tell you that I play Mono-White." They cut each other's decks and drew their hands. Nathan looked at his hand and saw he only had three lands, and everything required at least four mana, so he redrew.

This time he came up with four lands, one of each, and nodded. Fulton brought out two 20-sided dice, one white and black, another blue and white, and gave the blue one to Nathan. "We roll to see who goes first." They rolled and Nathan came up with 12 while Fulton got a measly one.

"I'm going first," Nathan said. "I play a Swamp and end my turn." Fulton drew and looked over his cards. "I play Evolving Wilds, then I tap and sacrifice it to play a Plains." He pulled out the basic land and placed it in a tapped position, then shuffled his deck and ended his turn.

"Okay, my turn then. I add a Mountain and end my turn."

Fulton untapped and drew. "I'll also be adding a second Plains and end my turn as well."

Nathan sighed in relief, and began his turn, "A forest this time. I'll end once more." Nathan had so far only been getting lands, and he only had cards that required four mana. He had Wolfir Avenger, but he still needed one more Forest.

"I'll be adding my third Plains and I play Archetype of Courage (2/2). Now, all of my creatures have first strike and none of your creatures can have first strike as long as it's on the field." Nathan was slightly intimidated, but continued his turn.

"I play my second Forest, and then I tap both of my Forests and my Mountain for Wolfir Avenger (3/3)." Nathan smiled, since his creature was stronger Fulton wouldn't dare attack with his Archetype.

But Fulton had a smile on his face, "I add a fourth Plains, and then I tap all four to play Knight of Glory (2/1) and Lyev Decree." Fulton placed the Sorcery card on Wolfir Avenger, "Now, until my next turn, your creature can't attack or block. So I'll use the opportunity and attack with both creatures." Nathan's life dropped by four, and it was his turn.

He drew, another Forest, and smiled as well. "I'm afraid you underestimate me. I play a Swamp, then I tap one Mountain, both Swamps, and one Forest to play Lighting Elemental (4/1)." Fulton looked surprised at this, and Nathan continued, "Not only does this creature have four power, but it also has the ability Haste. I attack with Lightning Elemental." Since both of Fulton's creatures were tapped, he got a free shot at Fulton, bringing his life down to 16 as well.

Nathan ended his turn, and Fulton removed the Lyev Decree and untapped his creatures. "Very good Nathan, but I'm afraid you've also underestimated me as well. I play my fifth Plains and tap one for Ajani's Presence." Nathan looked at the card, he never heard of it before, and when he looked at the set symbol he didn't recognize it either. "This spell also has a special effect called Strive, where I can pay an additional mana cost to give the effect to more of my creatures. So I tap three more Plains to give both of my creatures +1/+1 and indestructible. Now, my Knight of Glory attacks. And since he's attacking alone, his Exalted ability activates bringing him up to 4 power and 3 toughness."

"I block with Wolfir Avenger." Nathan stopped the attack, but his creature died while the Knight remained.

"It's your move."

Nathan untapped and examined his hand: two Forests, a Mountain, and a Sorcery-Ranger's Path. _'With Archetype still standing, and his first strike ability, I can't risk attacking with Lightning Elemental. I need a creature on this draw.'_ He drew, and it was another Mountain. He sighed, and played it. "I tap both of my Forests and Mountains to Play Ranger's Path. This allows me to search my deck for two Forests and put them into play tapped." Nathan hoped that by shuffling, he could increase his chances of getting a creature next turn. "I end my turn."

Fulton untapped and played his sixth Plains. "I tap four to play Seraph of Dawn (2/4) and two to play Glory Seeker (2/2)." He tapped out all his mana to play two creatures, both powerful in their own right. "I attack with Archetype and my Knight."

"I don't guard." Nathan took the four damage and hoped this draw would yield something good. Another Mountain, and Nathan groaned in disbelief. "I play a Mountain and end my turn."

Fulton drew and looked at his two cards. "I play Evolving Wilds and sacrifice it to add another Plains. Then I tap five and activate Knight Watch, allowing me to play two 2/2 white Knight tokens with the ability vigilance onto the field. Now I attack with my four creatures for a total of eight damage."

"I block the Archetype with Lightning Elemental." Nathan knew it was a risk, but he stopped two damage.

"Also, Seraph of Dawn has lifelink, so I gain two life." Nathan's turn began, and he was hoping for something good. He drew quickly and peeked at the card. His eyes grew wide and a smile grew across his face.

"I play a Mountain." He slammed the card on the table, and Fulton knew he had drawn the card he needed. "I call upon the dragon lords of Jund to lend me their strength; come forth, Flameblast Dragon (5/5)!" He tapped the necessary mana and threw down his card.

Fulton was smiling, and said, "That was a lucky draw, but you've already lost. You might have your dragon lord but I have four creatures and two tokens, all of which have two power." Nathan's smile faded as he realized what he meant, "Which means no matter which creature I block, I'll still take 10 damage."

"And unfortunately, you only have six life left." Nathan's head dropped, and he lowered his hand to reveal the cards he had. Fulton looked at them and saw he only had two Forests in his hand. _'So that's why.'_

Fulton stood, taking his cards, and said, "Well Nathan, that was a good game. You had a bad hand, but you played well." Nathan nodded and collected his cards as well. Fulton extended his hand out to him and Nathan shook it. "I'll be expecting a rematch soon." Fulton pocketed his cards and left the building, and Nathan soon followed. Nathan saw Fulton head around a corner and continued to the dorms.

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As Fulton rounded the corner, he began to think about his match with Nathan and how it could have gone differently if Nathan had mulliganned again, or if he never mulliganned at all. A flash of light caught his attention and he turned to see a floating symbol covered in blue flames. He sighed, then smiled, and finally walked up to it. In another flash of light and a thundering boom, he was gone.

Darkness soon engulfed his vision, and he walked forward. He didn't need a light; he already knew the way. After walking for a few minutes, a voice broke the silence, "So you tested him." The voice was very low and gruff, almost like a growl.

Fulton stopped in his tracks and said, "Of course I did."

"And?" another, more younger sounding voice said.

"He put up a good fight, but he lost."

The first voice scoffed, "Of course he did. I told you he'd lose."

"He lost," Fulton retorted, "because he had a bad hand. He had three spells and four sources of mana, and every time he drew it was more mana. He didn't get a card that could save him until it was too late."

The voice became silent, and another, more feminine voice spoke, "I say we move on. He might have the gift, but there are more on that plane with greater control, greater potential."

"I believe he has potential as well, he just needs a push in the right direction. His spark needs to ignite."

There was silence for a moment, "If you believe in him," the second voice said, "then so will I."

The female voice sighed, and said, "So will I."

The first voice growled in defiance, "I do not believe. I will let my ax judge him for me."

Fulton sighed and said, "Very well then. I have a plan, but I will need to do this alone." He sensed the approval of the others and left in another flash of light.

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**I hoped you all enjoyed this new chapter. As always, R&amp;R, PM, and see ya later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright, everyone. Here's where it starts to pick up. Hope you will all enjoy.**

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Chapter 3

Three weeks passed and Nathan's classes had been piling up the work, but no matter how much work he was assigned he always found a way to pull through. Mr. Fulton was impressed with Nathan's work, but he sensed that something was bothering him. He let him be though, thinking that the best thing for him was to let Nathan work out his problems on his own.

After classes let out, Fulton found Nathan at the same table, shuffling his deck. Fulton walked over to the table and sat down in front of him. He watched him shuffle his deck for a few minutes before he pulled out his own cards and began shuffling. They wordlessly exchanged decks and cut them, then returned them. They drew their hands of seven, Fulton keeping his while Nathan mulliganned. Fulton pulled out the same dice and they rolled. Nathan landed a three and Fulton landed a 16.

"I'll start things off," Fulton said, "with a Plains. I will then tap it for a Scroll of Avacyn. I end my turn."

Nathan drew, "I play Temple of Malice, and I get to scry one." He looked at the top card and placed it back on top. "My turn's over."

Fulton untapped and drew, "I play Evolving Wilds, and sacrifice it to give me a Plains. I will end my turn there."

"I play a Forest and end my turn."

Fulton laughed a bit, "This is turning out like our first match. I will add my third Plains and bring out a familiar face: Archetype of Courage (2/2). I end my turn."

"I'm afraid your Archetype won't be here for long." Fulton smiled a bit. "I play a Swamp, then I tap Temple of Malice for red mana and I tap my Forest and Swamp for two and play Heat Ray, dealing two damage to Archetype of Courage." Fulton smiled as he discarded his Archetype and Nathan ended his turn.

"I see your deck has improved."

"Not by much." Fulton raised an eyebrow at that, "the only change I made was trading Rakdos Guildgate for Temple of Malice."

"Ah, I see. Well, I believe it's my turn. I add a Plains and play the Crusader of Odric (1/1). I end my turn."

"Alright then," Nathan said as he drew, "I play Kazandu Refuge. I gain one life due to it's effect, and I end my turn." Fulton looked at his cards after drawing, trying to decide which card to play.

"I'll play my fifth Plains, and tap for five to play Knight Watch. As you know, this places two Knight tokens onto the field, but it also raises Crusader of Odrics power by one for each (3/3). I attack with the Crusader of Odric." Nathan's life dropped to 18, and he drew.

"I play a Mountain, and then I tap out to summon Fire Elemental (5/4)!" Nathan slammed the card down, like he did with Flameblast Dragon, and ended his turn.

As Fulton drew his card, he could see the determination in his eyes. Not a revenge kind of determination, but as if he were trying to redeem himself. "I add another Plains, and tap for five: two to play Vanguard's Shield, and three more to equip it to Crusader of Odric (3/6). It not only gives my Crusader a Toughness bonus, it also allows her to block two creatures at once. However, this puts her into a more defensive position, so I will end my turn."

"My move, I play a Swamp and then I tap out. I use two Swamps to play Drudge Skeletons and then I use the rest to play Ranger's Path, giving me two more tapped Forests. I end my turn."

"Very well, then I tap five to play Dictate of Heliod," another card Nathan had never seen before. "This is an enchantment, and it gives all my creatures an additional two power and toughness (5/8)(4/4)(4/4). I attack with all three of my creatures, for a total of 13 damage."

"I block one of your Knights with Fire Elemental, and I block Crusader of Odric with Drudge Skeletons." Both of Nathan's creatures and one of Fulton's Knight tokens were destroyed, and Nathan took only four damage.

"Your move." Nathan drew and saw it was one of his best cards.

"I tap out: four to play Skullmead Cauldron and four to play Wildheart Invoker (4/3)! Now, I tap the Cauldron and discard Valakut Fireboar to gain three life. I end my turn." Fulton saw Nathan's strategy already; he won't guard his attacks, and instead will wait until his next turn to activate his creature's ability and give it five power and toughness, enough to take out Crusader of Odric. However, the one card in his hand would change that.

He untapped and drew, "I tap three to play a second Crusader of Odric (5/5)(5/8). Next, I tap two to play Lyev Decree. Your creature is stopped, and I will sweep for 14. I end my turn." Nathan didn't seem to be fazed at all, and drew his card.

Fulton saw a smile on his face, "I tap out!" Fulton was surprised at this, he couldn't be stupid enough to activate his Invoker's ability now.

_'He must have had a high cost card in his hand that he's been saving.'_

"I play Slime Molding, which gives me a green Ooze creature token with seven power and toughness. And finally, I tap the Cauldron and discard a Mountain to regain three life, bringing me up to six. Your move." Fulton's smile was at it's widest as he removed the Lyev Decree and drew his next card.

"I must admit, I'm impressed. But now, I must end it. I attack with all three of my creatures."

"I block your Knight token with Wildheart Invoker and your unequipped Crusader with my Ooze token." Nathan's Invoker and Fulton's Knight and Crusader were destroyed, leaving only the Ooze token and the final Crusader (3/6).

"I end my turn."

Nathan untapped and drew, "I tap the Cauldron and discard a Mountain, and I attack with my Ooze!"

"I won't guard," Fulton said, taking the seven damage. "I must say it's a risky move to attack with no other creatures defending you. If I get another creature, or if I get a spell that can boost my Crusader's power, it's over you know." Nathan was unresponsive as Fulton drew. "A Plains. If you think you are safe, you're not." Nathan knew what was coming.

"I tap one of my Plains and sacrifice the Scroll of Avacyn. I was saving it until I got an Angel on the field, but oh well. I now get to draw one more card." Fulton drew, and sighed. He threw the card down, another Plains.

"Your move."

Nathan drew his next card and played it, "I tap Temple of Malice for black mana and Kazandu Refuge for red mana and play Drudge Skeletons. Next, I tap the Cauldron for one life. Now, I attack with my Ooze!"

"I won't guard." Fulton was now down to six life, just one point over Nathan's.

"It's my move," Fulton said. He picked up his card, and sighed. "I pass," he said, dropping another Plains card onto the table.

Nathan drew his last card and said, "I offer the mercy rule." Fulton looked up at Nathan, surprised that he would not deal the finishing blow. "It's obvious you aren't going to guard, so I'll call it game." Nathan extended his hand and Fulton stared at it, stroking his chin with his middle and pointer finger. Eventually, he smiled and shook it.

They collected their cards and Fulton said, "Nathan, let's take a walk." Nathan, in the past couple weeks, saw Mr. Fulton ask some of his classmates to take a walk with him, and it was usually to talk about problems that they were having or asking them about their work, but Nathan felt this would be different. They left the student lounge and they began walking towards the dorms.

"Nathan, what if I told you that Magic, the card game that we just played, was actually real?"

Nathan was silent for a moment before saying, "Part of me would want to say 'You're crazy', but another part of me would actually believe you."

"Is that so?"

Nathan nodded, "Ever since my brother introduced me to the game, I've looked at the world differently. I've been thinking about which parts of my hometown could produce certain types of mana, and I already believe in the theory of parallel universes."

"You are right, you know." Nathan looked at Mr. Fulton as they began walking along the sidewalk near the apartments. "Everything here produces some form of mana." He pointed to the pond behind the apartments, "That pond over there, although it has no island, produces blue mana. Those trees," he pointed at the trees to their left and the ones they passed under, "produce green mana. Even the grass and the buildings produce white mana."

Nathan stopped, "Wait a second, so you're telling me that Magic-the planes, mana, creatures-everything is real?" Mr. Fulton turned and nodded. Nathan released a sharp laugh, which turned into a guffaw. "Okay, I know I said that half of me would believe what you were saying, but right now my side of disbelief is showing." Nathan continued forward and Fulton stared at him, astounded.

"What if I told you that the dangers were real as well," Fulton said, trying to catch up with Nathan, "and that you had the potential to become a planeswalker."

"Puh-lease," Nathan said, turning, but continuing to walk backwards. "Me? A planeswalker? I know that there are only so many who can become planeswalkers, but why would it be me? Am I the only planeswalker here?"

"No, as a matter of fact there were more; others with the same potential as you, maybe even greater, but I came to you first."

"Oh oh oh, don't tell me, let me guess. I was chosen because I'm 'The Chosen One', the one destined to defeat Lilianna Vess, or-no wait-Nicol Bolas himself!" Nathan went into a fit of laughter, only enraging Fulton more.

"You are a planeswalker, and I chose you because I saw something great in you that no one else had."

"If I am a planeswalker, then why can't I planeswalk to Innistrad, or Theros?" Fulton became silent and Nathan nodded before turning to leave.

"Your spark has not ignited yet." Fulton said. Nathan stopped, tempted to turn around and tell him off. "But I know of a way to ignite it." Nathan realized his voice was very close, and before he could react, Fulton had grabbed him. Nathan struggled, but Fulton had an iron grip on him.

"Let me go!" Nathan shouted, hoping to at least attract some attention from the neighbors. "I will prove to you that I am right." A blue light surrounded them, and Nathan struggled harder to get loose, but it was too late. A large thundercrack sounded and darkness enveloped the both of them.

Nathan couldn't open his eyes, but he could feel immense pain. He screamed as the pain threatened to tear him apart, both physically and mentally. Before the pain could reach it's peak, Nathan felt a surge of heat, as well as spiritual and physical strength, and he pushed away from Fulton. He landed on the ground, hard stone colliding with him as he panted.

"You see!?" He shouted at Fulton, still partially blinded. "I'm not a planeswalker. Whatever you did just failed." He turned to walk away. "I'm going home Mr. Fulton. Not back to the apartments, back to my home. I qui-"

He ran into something, still a little blind, and fell over. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, and his vision soon returned. He looked up to see what he had bumped into, only to wish that he hadn't. The thing he ran into was a large creature with the upper half of a human and the lower half of an insect. It had four legs and two arms, and it wielded what appeared to be a halberd. The creature turned around to reveal and insect like face, and it hissed at Nathan.

It raised the halberd and prepared to strike Nathan, who raised an arm in defense, but a loud roar stopped it from attacking. The creature looked up, as did Nathan, to see a leonin leap over him. The leonin was white and it wielded a twin-bladed axe. The leonin growled, holding the ax up to the insect creature's neck, and it scurried away.

Nathan turned around to see Fulton was gone, only to hear his voice in front of him, "Are you alright Nathan?"

He looked at the leonin, who had his hand outstretched, and he responded, "Mr. Fulton?" The leonin nodded, and Nathan took his hand.

"My real name is Ajani Goldmane." Nathan looked at the axe again, and saw one blade was a different color than the other. The leonin grabbed Nathan and they climbed up the wall next to them until they reached the top. He set Nathan down, and he saw before him a vast city.

"Welcome to Ravnica."

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, but remember: we're not even at the climax yet. There are planes to visit, creatures to see, and planeswalkers to battle. As always, R&amp;R, PM, and see ya later.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey all, Madness King back to update this story. So, yes it is true that when Chapter 3 of this story came out, I was already at the fifth chapter. So why hold out this long to update this story? Well for one thing, I was updating other stories (i.e. SABL and A Time Traveler's Destiny). However I was mostly trying to figure some things out. As you can imagine, Magic on other worlds works differently-its painfully obvious Planeswalkers don't planeswalk to a nearby game store, sit down at one of the tables and play a card game while everyone watches. No, I had to dig deep, which I did with my most recently finished chapter (which by the way is a whopping 5,737 words). Will I update to that chapter today? Probably not. Sometime this week? Most likely, but for now; R&amp;R, PM, and Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4

After returning to the ground, Ajani showed Nathan a portion of the city, which was only a tiny fraction of the entire thing. "The plane of Ravnica is a single city, and home to many creatures. It is also a place of both great beauty and destruction. Although the guilds have made peace with each other, there are still moments when brawls will break out between the rivaling guilds." Nathan noticed a large crowd gathering, as did Ajani. "Speaking of which, I believe one has already started."

They got closer and saw it was a fight between two mages. One bore a dragon insignia on his shoulder, identifying him as member of the Izzet League, and the other had a black mask with a red skull painted over it, a member of the Rakdos Cult. "It is wise if we move away from this. Follow me." Ajani led Nathan away from the brawl, the sound of lightning and shrieking coming from behind them.

The crowd cheered as they entered a building, and Nathan continued to follow Ajani to the back. He opened a door and ushered Nathan inside. He closed the door behind them and summoned an orb of light. "This passage leads to a safe house. We will talk more once we get there." They walked for some time before reaching a dead end. Ajani held the orb to the wall and it lit up a series of crevices in the stone until it revealed the outline of a door. The stone vanished as the light died out, and Nathan went in first.

After Ajani entered the stone reappeared and Ajani created another orb of light, which he placed in a lantern. It lit up part of the room, and from what Nathan could see there were beds made of stone with thin mattresses and blankets on top. There was also a stone table with two wooden chairs, and Nathan sat down. Ajani sat opposite him, and said, "I know you must be confused and excited, so take your time in asking questions you want answered."

Nathan thought for a second and asked, "How does magic work? Without the cards I mean?"

Ajani sighed and leaned back in his chair, "That I cannot tell you, but instead must show you." Nathan felt a pair of hands touch his head and he blacked out for a few seconds. His brain soon became a floodgate that had just opened to let in a stream of knowledge. Spells, incantations, rituals, scrolls, it flooded his mind until it was at his bursting point. The knowledge stopped and he slumped against the stone.

"Sorry about that," a voice said. Nathan looked up to see a man in a blue cloak walk past him, "a Mind Sculpt is usually used to remove information, not give it."

"Nathan," Ajani said, "this is Jace Beleren, the Living Guildpact and the Architect of Thought."

Nathan recognized him and Jace said, "So, you managed to ignite his spark after all. Your plan was mad, but there was a chance it could work."

"What's he talking about?" Nathan asked, his brain still throbbing.

"I had a thought that your spark could be ignited if you passed through the Blind Eternities." Nathan remembered the pain, and then he remembered what the Blind Eternities were.

"You mean you would have risked killing me?"

"It was a risky choice, yes, but if I sensed that your spark would not ignite I would have pulled you back to your plane." Nathan couldn't argue with him, mostly because of the throbbing pain. "I am sorry for putting you through that, but now you are safe and you can pass through the Blind Eternities safely."

Nathan nodded and asked, "So what about other Planeswalkers? As I understand it, not so many of them are friendly."

"Indeed," Jace said, "many Planeswalkers will try to confront you. Some will test your abilities, others will come simply to try and kill you. When either of these happen, you must plansewalk elsewhere if you wish to avoid casualties." None of those words gave Nathan comfort, especially the part about Planeswalkers trying to kill him, and he could already think of a few who would fit the bill.

"From time to time," Ajani said, "I will call on you for training. I will aid you, give you my knowledge, and teach you all that I know."

Nathan was silent for a moment and asked, "Where should I begin?" Ajani looked to Jace and nodded.

"First of all," Jace said walking past Nathan and back into the dark part of the room, "your cards won't suffice if you wish to defend yourself. Your enemies will not sit down with you to play a game of cards. Most won't even approach you and will instead strike from the shadows." A blue orb appeared, lighting up the rest of the room in a blue glow. Nathan saw that the rest of the room was outfitted like a war room. There was a table with a scroll sitting on top, a rack of weapons, equipment and artifacts, and a chest with some sort of lock.

"I know of an artificer who can craft something for you, but it will take some time to finish." Jace's eyes glowed blue and the lock fell off, allowing Jace to open the chest and pull out something. "In the meantime, if someone should attack you, use this." Jace walked back to Nathan and held out his hand. Nathan looked and saw it was a pendant with the symbol of the Planeswalkers.

"If another Planeswalker should confront you," Ajani said, "call out one of our names and we will come to your aid." Nathan put on the pendant and thanked them. "Now we must bring you back to your plane. Tomorrow you not only have regular classes, but so will your training."

"I just have one question," Nathan said. "What happens if someone attacks me while others are around, like while I'm in class."

"I have already taken the liberty of placing wards around the school. Mana will be useless inside and around the school. Now we must go, else we risk running into trouble." Ajani stood and Nathan went over to him. "I will planeswalk us both, and I will teach you how to planeswalk by yourself in time. But first we must exit the safe house; it prevents planeswalking."

Nathan followed Ajani out of the room and through the passage. Ajani closed the passage behind them and they left the building. However, once they were outside, they were greeted by zombies, spiders, and a few other creatures. "Members of the Golgari Swarm, no doubt," Ajani said, "that Kraul must have followed us here and recruited some help." Ajani brought out his ax and said to Nathan, "Stay behind me."He held out his hand and an orb of light appeared, which disappeared almost immediately. "Now run!"

Ajani sped forward, swinging his ax, and Nathan did his best to keep up as green and black spells were cast. Ajani struck the enemies in front of him as the spells hit, but seemed to have no effect, clearing a path. Nathan felt an arm grab his arm and turned to see a zombie, which quickly bit down on his arm. However, the moment it did, the zombie pulled away as it screamed in pain and its mouth burst into flames, giving Nathan the opportunity to escape and rejoin Ajani.

"Mind explaining what just happened?"

"I cast a spell, one that you should already know. After all, I played it in our first game." Nathan didn't understand at first, but then remembered; Ajani's Presence. "It grants a small boost to Power and Toughness and makes the target indestructible for a short time." As they entered an alley, more of the creatures caught up with them and Ajani began to fight them off. Nathan backed up, trying to avoid the conflict, only to be stopped by a Kraul.

It hissed at Nathan and struck him with its forearm, knocking him away from Ajani even further. "Nathan!" Ajani shouted, noticing the Kraul. More creatures dropped from above and landed behind him, preventing him from helping Nathan. The Kraul advanced on Nathan, raising the halberd for a downward stab. Nathan was paralyzed with fear, and only watched as the Kraul attacked.

Before the blade could pierce his body, Nathan felt a sudden surge of energy, like when he was passing through the Blind Eternities. He felt invigorated and swiftly knocked the blade away. The Kraul was just as surprised as Nathan, who felt another surge of energy. "No, Nathan, stop!" Ajani shouted, but Nathan didn't hear him. "You're using raw mana, your own life energy. If you use it you'll end up destroying yourself!"

Nathan still couldn't hear Ajani, and instead focused on the surge that was giving him power. A sudden flash of green shown from Nathan's chest and he shouted, "Primal Surge!" His eyes began to glow green, and a whirlwind formed around him. Three yellow orbs formed in the whirlwind and touched the ground one at a time, each changing color as it did.

The first turned red and transformed into a human with a large steel halberd, appearing to Nathan's left. Another orb turned green and transformed into a large spider, this time behind him. And to his right, the orb turned black and transformed into a swarm of skeletons. "Keldon Halberdier (4/1), Jungle Weaver (5/6), and Drudge Skeletons (1/1), attack!"

The skeletons attacked first, easily being destroyed by the Kraul's halberd, followed by the Keldon Halberdier, who disarmed and struck the Kraul, and finally the Jungle Weaver, which went after the remaining creatures. Ajani moved out of the way as the giant arachnid attacked, finishing them off or driving the creatures away. The creatures disappeared and Ajani looked to Nathan, whose eyes stopped glowing once they were all gone and collapsed.

Ajani hurried over to him and helped him up, "Don't give up on me just yet." Nathan stirred, holding a hand up to his head, "A-Ajani..." Nathan's words trailed off as his hand fell and he began to slip out of consciousness. He could hear muffled speaking, along with the sound of his heartbeat. It was hard to tell, but he knew it was gradually slowing down. His heart soon began to slowly stop.

Lub-dub.

Lub...dub.

Lub-KRACK!

* * *

**Alright, that puts an end to this chapter. If any of you were confused as to what just happened, allow me to elaborate a bit. As we all know, Planeswalkers have different abilities-some having four instead of the standard three-and those abilities range from milling cards to summoning creatures to Ajani, Mentor of Heroes' ability to grant the player 100 life. Nathan, being a Planeswalker, also has his own set of abilities. If I could describe the theme of his abilities, it would have to be mana/land-fetching, or pretty much the ability to pull out lands straight from the deck or add mana to one's mana pool. That whole scenario with Primal Surge (and yes, that's a real spell from the Innistrad block) was one of his abilities. The best way I can explain it is like this:**

**-X: add X in any combination of mana to your mana pool**

**Basically, it means sacrificing life to add mana that you don't have. It's quite the handy ability, but its also very dangerous when Nathan uses it, since he nearly died. Anyways, I'll be sure to make this a double update, but if I post any more chapters after this today is up to me. Until then, R&amp;R, PM, and I'll see you guys next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, so as promised here is the double update. I won't keep you waiting (especially since I have a giant headache right now), so R&amp;R, PM, and Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Nathan jerked awake and gasped for air. He patted his arms and chest, making sure they were still there, and looked at his surroundings. He was in his room at the apartments, like any other morning. Nathan looked at his alarm clock and saw it was 7 am. He sighed, knowing it must have been a dream. He slid out of bed and got ready for class.

He arrived for classes a half hour early and began working on his projects. A few minutes after 8, Mr. Fulton walked in and greeted his students. Nathan looked up from his work momentarily then got back to work. The day was slow, unlike the past weeks that had gone by in a flash. Afterwards, Nathan stayed in the student lounge, shuffling his deck for a moment before Michael approached him and asked for a game. Nathan accepted and they began.

After a few turns, Nathan had beaten Michael using a Heat Ray to destroy his only untapped creature and sweep to finish him off. Michael left and Nathan began gathering up his cards. He had a strange feeling of deja vu and began looking around. He noticed Mr. Fulton in the hallway, speaking with another teacher, but nothing else. He put his cards in his left pocket and went back to the dorms.

As he headed back, he inhaled as a breeze went by and took in the smell of the already crisp autumn air. Once he arrived at the building, the door suddenly swung open. Nathan barely dodged it as someone was bringing out a box of items. "Careful, you almost hit me with the door." He moved aside and, surprisingly, saw it was Carter behind the box.

"Sorry about that man, but I'm getting moved to the next building over." Nathan was surprised at this, and asked why. "The Resident Admin is moving some people around to make room for new students."

"Already?"

"Yeah, a few last minute transfers between classes. I'm moving to a dorm with some of the guys in my class. I think Luke is also getting moved, but I'm not sure about you." Carter continued to walk towards the next apartment over and Nathan went inside. He got to his apartment and went to Luke and Carter's room. He saw Luke already beginning to take out clothes from his closet and dresser and put them into a box.

He noticed Nathan and said, "Did Carter tell you?" Nathan nodded his head and Luke continued, "Yeah, I'm still in the building but in a different room, down the hall." Nathan nodded and noticed Carter had returned, so he moved out of the way. Nathan went into his room and sat down on his bed. He pulled out his cards and began shuffling the deck of cards. He alternated between overhand, rifle, and pile shuffling for what seemed like half an hour when Carter got his attention.

"The RA's here, she wants to talk with us." Nathan set aside his cards and went into the living room. The RA was Lindsay, a short woman with wavy, light brown hair.

When Nathan and Carter entered, she greeted them and said, "Okay, Carter and Luke have you guys already finished getting your stuff moved?"

They both answered with a "Yeah" and Carter said, "I'm going to be sleeping over there since I've already got my stuff moved."

Lindsay nodded and asked Luke about his plan. "I'll probably stay here for tonight," he said, "unless I can get all my stuff moved too." She nodded again and looked over to Nathan.

"Nate, you gonna be okay by yourself?" Lindsay called Nathan Nate as a sort of nickname, and he nodded. "Okay, good. I've already gotten the info on your new roommate. You remember that these dorms are coed?" Nathan, again nodded and she continued, "Okay, because you'll only be getting one new roommate and it's gonna be a girl. No funny business, okay?"

Lindsay smiled at that last part and Nathan said, "Yeah, yeah I get it."

"Okay, well I'm gonna go then. Good luck fellas." The three said goodbye to Lindsay and Nathan went back to his room. He picked up his cards and began doing a pile shuffle again. He divided them into six piles and placed each card in a counter-clockwise rotation. He silently numbered each of them as ones, twos and so on, but once he finished with the tens, he found he had one card leftover.

"That's weird, I don't remember adding any cards." He looked at the spare card and saw it was a Swamp. He looked through each of his card piles until he found the extra in the third pile. It was a completely blank card; no name, no picture, no mana cost, there wasn't even any card information at the bottom. Nathan took it out and put it on the dresser, thinking nothing of it. He reshuffled his main deck and placed it into his pocket again. He looked at the time and saw it was around 5, so he decided to go for a walk.

After leaving the apartment building, a gust of wind blew by, prompting Nathan to go back and grab a jacket. He grabbed a white and black hooded jacket, went back outside, and began walking around the complex. The wind grew stronger, sometimes blowing in his face when he changed direction. Just as he was about to get back, Nathan stopped, thinking he heard something. He looked around at the corners of his eyes, and slowly began walking again.

He kept thinking he saw shadows running by but figured it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Nathan quickened his pace regardless, and reached the door to his building. He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and jumped, turning around and drawing in a sharp breath.

"Everything okay?" Mr. Fulton asked.

Nathan let out his breath, "Please don't do that again."

"Sorry, but I had to speak with you. Let's head inside, it's best we speak alone." Nathan nodded and opened the door to the building and the two went up to Nathan's apartment.

Nathan opened the door and asked, "So what's this about?" Nathan sat down on the couch, while Fulton took the chair next to him.

"Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

Nathan looked down, "So it wasn't a dream after all."

Fulton shook his head, "I wish it was a dream as well, young one. You were using raw mana, your own life energy, to power that spell." Nathan looked back up to Fulton, confused, "Raw mana?"

He nodded, "As you know, there are five main types of mana that come from five main sources. These forms of mana are controlled, harnessed, and safely used to cast spells. However, the use of a person's life energy as mana is quite deadly. Life is a mix of all five mana colors; blue's knowledge, red's passion, white's judgement, and so on. But it is because that it is a combination of all five mana that it is unstable, unpredictable, and potentially powerful."

"And if I use it too much, it could end up killing me."

Fulton nodded, "I believe this to be one of your planeswalker abilities. Each planeswalker will have three, sometimes four abilities unique to themselves. You seem to have already found what is called an Ultimate ability, an ability that usually requires a large amount of strength to cast." Nathan didn't feel proud in any way; sure, it was a good ability, a great ability, but it could end up killing him in the process. "I suggest you refrain from using it again, unless it is absolutely necessary."

Nathan nodded again and stood. He went into his room and found the blank card again, then walked back and handed the card to Fulton, "Do you know what this is?"

Nathan sat back on the couch as he examined it, "Obviously, it's a blank card."

"Yeah, but I found it in my deck earlier today and I have no idea what it is or how it got there."

"To be honest, I'm not sure myself. Keep it anyway, just in case." Nathan nodded again and Fulton stood up. "I had best be going. Stay on guard and if someone attacks you, you know how to call me."

He left and Nathan put the blank card back on the dresser. As he came back into the living room, there was another knock on the door and Nathan went to it. He looked through the peep hole and saw it was a middle aged man. He had dark brown, almost black hair and blue eyes. He wore a brown shirt with a green windbreaker, and Nathan saw him look around, waiting for him to answer the door. Nathan took in a deep breath and answered it. When he opened it, the man looked to him with a serious look, a complete poker face.

"Can I help you?" Nathan asked, ready to close the door in case this was who he thought it was.

"I hope so," he said in a gravelly voice. "I'm looking for a teacher, Alexander Fulton. I was told to meet him at this school, but I haven't seen him all day."

"You just missed him. If you hurry you can probably catch him." The man nodded his head and said goodbye. Nathan watched him leave and then closed the door shut, sighing in relief.

* * *

As Alexander Fulton walked away, he sensed the presence of another Planeswalker. He could already tell who it was and after leaving the apartment building he heard someone else open the door. Fulton slowed his walk and said, "That's a very good disguise Garruk." The man walked side by side with Fulton, who continued, "I don't think he realized who you were."

Garruk scoffed in his partially disguised voice, "I think he did. I saw it in his face." Fulton looked to Garruk, who was smiling.

"I don't want you to go after him just yet, Garruk." They both stopped and Fulton continued, "Not until he is able to defend himself."

"Very well," he said. "But when he can defend himself, you can surely count on my arrival." Fulton nodded and Garruk planeswalked away. Fulton sighed, and planeswalked away as well.

* * *

**Well, that's the end of this chapter. Be aware that you can count on appearances from other, lesser known Planeswalkers. Also, around this time in the story Journey into Nyx is close to release, to clear up any confusion. Khans of Tarkir may make a reference in closer chapters, but eventually it will come into play. For now, R&amp;R, PM, and I'll see you guys again!**


	6. Chapter 6

**How's it going everybody, I am back with Chapter 6 of Challenge of the Planeswalkers. So before we continue on to the chapter itself, let me explain why I held off on this story until now. I really had chapters 4 and 5 done and ready to go, but I was mostly working on chapter 6. You see in this chapter I try to explain how the mechanics of Magic work on other planes such as Zendikar and Innistrad. How do hands and libraries work? How do Planeswalkers cast spells and summon creatures? What about non-basic lands? Artifacts?**

**You see what I'm getting at here? Even when I wasn't working on this story, I would always try to go back to it and solve the riddle of Magic's mechanics. After some time away from this story (and from quite a few others), I was able to piece together a basic understanding of how it all works, which I will try to explain in this chapter.**

**Also, just a recap from last chapter, Journey into Nyx is close to release (in the story, and probably in chapter 8 (which I am now working on)), and Khans of Tarkir will appear much later (somewhere in the double digit chapters). So without further ado, R&amp;R, PM, and Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6

Over the next few days, Nathan's classes went by very slowly. Half the time Nathan was looking around the classroom, thinking that something or someone would appear out of nowhere. The other half he was expecting Mr. Fulton to pull him aside for something Planeswalker related. About a week and a half after planeswalking to Ravnica, when the time came to leave class, Nathan began to pack up when someone entered the room.

Mr. Fulton walked over to the man that walked in and Nathan spared a glance as well. The man wore a deep blue dress shirt with a pale gray suit and pants. He had black hair that was slicked back and Nathan saw the man look at him for a moment. After finishing up, Nathan walked over to Fulton and the man, thinking this had to do with him, and Fulton saw him approach.

"Nathan," Fulton said, "I would like for you to meet Mr. Adams. He wanted to talk with you about a potential job opportunity." Mr. Adams smiled and held out a hand, Nathan taking it and giving him a firm handshake.

"I heard many things about you from Alexander," Adams said, "all of them good."

The last few students began to leave and Nathan said, "All right, and what would you like to talk to me about?" The others finally left, and his face shifted in expression.

"The artifact is finished." Nathan figured this was Jace in disguise and he took something out of his pocket. It was a small talisman, like the one he gave to Nathan in Ravnica, and said, "Come, we must leave at once." Fulton held on to Nathan's shoulder and they all planeswalked out of the classroom.

As Nathan passed through the Blind Eternities he could not see anything but he definitely felt something. It was like he was passing through water at speeds equal to a submarine and his skin tingled as they continued to their destination.

They soon exited the Blind Eternities and Nathan found himself temporarily blinded once again. "We've arrived," he heard Jace say. Nathan rubbed his eyes to try and see where they were and once it cleared up he realized they were not in Ravnica but instead a different plane. The place looked more akin to an old English-Victorian village. It was nightfall so no one was around, but Nathan still had this unsettling feeling that they were being watched.

"Thraben," Ajani said, looking around. Nathan's eyes went wide as he looked to Ajani, then their surroundings, and then Ajani.

"Thraben?" He looked to Jace, "Thraben? As in Innistrad's Thraben?" His voice cracked a little out of fear, and he had a right to be: from what he knew about Innistrad, the entire plane was inhabited by not only humans but vampires, werewolves, ghosts, zombies, and a macabre of other monsters.

"Do not fear," Ajani said, "since the return of Avacyn, Innistrad has had a time of peace in which the creatures that were once feared are now guardians and protectors." This still did not put Nathan's mind at ease, but the three began to walk through the village. Nathan kept constant watch, feeling like someone-or rather something-was watching them pass through and they stopped in front of an old house.

It was worn down, with holes dotting the walls and roof; the window shutters were open, banging against the side of the house as they hung by a single hinge. As they approached the house Nathan's feeling continued to grow, sparing glances behind him and thinking he saw shadows behind the other buildings, and Jace took notice.

"Is something wrong?" he asked as Ajani knocked on the door, nearly breaking it off its hinges in the process.

"I don't know," Nathan said, continuing to observe his surroundings, "I just have this bad feeling." Jace looked around and nodded, as if he agreed with him.

The door opened slightly, bringing Nathan and Jace back to the current situation, and Nathan saw a middle aged man through the crack. He had receding brown and gray hair, showing a good portion of the top of his head. One look at Ajani was all it took for the man to open the door wider. Nathan could now see he wore Victorian-age clothing, tunic and pants made of sturdy cloth and a cloak made of worn leather.

"You're here," he said with a dry, raspy voice. He saw Nathan and pointed at him, "This is the one?" Ajani nodded and the man ushered them inside. "You were right," he said to Jace as he passed him, "he does dress oddly."

"Hey!" Nathan shouted, but Ajani stepped between them before it got out of hand. Nathan backed off and the man closed the door.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the three Planeswalkers and Thraben citizen, there was in fact someone watching them from the shadows. He had been watching them since they arrived and had been listening in on every word they said. He knew of the younger one's fear for the plane, and he had a right to be.

When they came to the old crafter's house, he saw the youngest glimpse in his direction, though he was very well hidden and did not move an inch when he looked. Once they entered the house, he smiled and waited for them to exit.

Then he would reveal himself.

* * *

The Planeswalkers followed the man through his house, entering a laboratory as they neared the back. Nathan looked at the array of beakers, instruments, and other various equipment. The man stopped in front of a workbench and Nathan stood beside Jace as he picked up something. The man turned to show the object to the three: it was a large, metallic gauntlet made of what seemed to be copper and brass; it was large enough to cover Nathan's lower arm and hand, and it was decorated with five large gems.

Jace walked forward, recieved the gauntlet, and turned to Nathan. "Your people," he began, walking towards Nathan, "are not naturally attuned with the mana of your plane. The abilities that allow you to tap into mana are either not developed enough or are just non-existent. This gauntlet will help amplify and focus those abilities, allowing you to cast spells as we do."

"Do you have your cards with you?" Ajani asked. Nathan nodded and pulled his deck case out.

"May I?" Jace asked, shifting the gauntlet to one hand and holding out the other. Nathan handed the cards to Jace, who placed the gauntlet gently onto another table. He pulled the cards out and looked through them, pausing and staring at some of them. "Red, green and black mana; very dangerous colors, but also very powerful." Jace shuffled the deck of cards and went to the gauntlet.

Nathan walked over to him as he placed the cards next to the glove portion of the gauntlet. A blue aura moved towards the deck of cards and picked them up. The aura covered the cards entirely and they disappeared into the gauntlet. Jace then picked up the gauntlet and handed it to Nathan. Nathan took hold of the gauntlet and Jace let go, the weight causing Nathan's arms to drop an inch before he was able to hold it properly. Nathan examined it a bit before he inserted his right hand into the gauntlet.

As he slid it in further, Nathan felt a spiritual pressure build up in his chest. Once his fingers entered the glove portion of the gauntlet, he flexed his fingers to show that he could move them freely and easily. He turned it over to examnine it further, and looked at the gemstones in the gauntlet. All five were spherical in shape, and they seemed to be hollow with smoke inside.

"How does it feel?" Jace asked.

"It's a good fit," Nathan replied, continuing to examine the gauntlet.

"As I said, this will help focus the powers you possess and will enable you to cast spells as Ajani and I do." The spiritual pressure began to extend from his chest, into his limbs, and into his very subconscious. The pressure kept building up and soon Nathan began to glow with a soft light. Nathan threw his head back and cried out as it reached its peak, and the two Planeswalkers covered their eyes as the glow grew brighter.*

Once the glow died down, Ajani looked to Nathan to make sure he was alright. Nathan's head dropped and his body started to go limp, but he still stood. Nathan groaned and lifted his head, opening his eyes to reveal that they were glowing, just like they did in Ravnica. There seemed to be no damage caused by whatever happened, and Nathan's eyes stopped glowing. He rubbed his head and blinked his eyes.

"Are you alright, Nathan?" Jace asked. Nathan stood up straight and flexed his fingers, looking at them as if he had never seen them before.

"I feel...good. Great in fact." He continued to stretch, and said, "It feels like every part of my body's working at full capacity." Then something came up in Nathan's mind: it was like he could see vivid images of all the cards in his deck until it settled on seven individual cards while the others faded into mist. "I can see the cards in my mind," Nathan said.

"That's how we are able to cast spells," Jace responded. "Planeswalkers cast spells based on memory. The ones that you remember at the time are like a hand of cards, and the rest that you cannot see is your library."

"That also explains spells like Mind Rot and Future Sight," Nathan said, "because they all deal with the mind and memory."

Jace nodded, "When Planeswalkers summon creatures and cast spells, they do so by recalling that specific memory." Nathan began to examine his "memories" and came across a basic land, a Mountain. He focused on it until it disappeared from his memory and one of the stones began to glow on his gauntlet. He, Jace and Ajani all looked at the gemstone and Nathan saw a small red orb fly out of it.

"Red mana, isn't it?" Nathan asked as he watched the orb fly around him.

"Yes," Jace replied, "and mana always looks different based on the mage or planeswalker. For example," Nathan looked to Jace as a small blue wisp appeared over his shoulder, "mana that I summon take the form of Will-o-the-Wisps." The small flame flickered, almost like it was dancing, and then disappeared. Jace held out his hand, which began glowing blue, and a creature flew out of his hand, growing larger as it flew around the house. It was manta-like in appearance, and glyphs circled around it.

"My own Phantasm," Jace said as he watched it circle over him. Nathan was impressed, and Jace continued, "Go ahead, try to cast something."

A new spell appeared in Nathan's memory, and he smiled. He focused on another mana source, a Swamp this time, and it disappeared as a black orb circled around his head. He then focused on the new card and he suddenly knew how to cast the spell. He tapped into both his mana sources, and they flew into his gauntlet. The glove began to glow and he thrust it towards the Phantasm.

A ray of intense heat shot from Nathan's hand and hit the Phantasm, which screeched in pain and dissipated. Nathan stopped the spell and gave a cheer for his success. "Heat Ray!" he shouted in glee, smiling at Ajani. The Thraben citizen wasn't too happy however, and began to rant about how he'd burn his house down.

"That was impressive," Jace said, silencing everyone. Two Will-o-the-Wisps appeared over Jace's shoulder this time, and one of them disappeared. "Let's see how you handle this." Jace held out a hand as his eyes glowed blue, and Nathan cried out in pain. He felt both physical and mental pain as whatever spell Jace had cast began to rack his mind with pain. He heard Ajani shout something, and Nathan fell to his knees as the pain subsided.

He gasped for air as Ajani went over to Jace and said, "End this, now. Before it gets out of hand."

_ 'No,'_ Nathan suddenly thought to himself, _'I won't let it end like this.'_ He looked up at Jace, anger present on his face. He saw Ajani look to him, and sensed another spell enter his memory.

"Nathan," Ajani said. Nathan's attention was temporarily focused on Ajani, but it soon returned to the new spell. "Don't do anything hasty." He focused on a Forest, and a third orb appeared.

Ajani rushed over to Nathan but it was too late; Nathan had already cast the spell and held out his own hand in a choking gesture. He began to close his hand and he heard Jace cry out in pain. Ajani looked to Jace, allowing Nathan to see his spell at work-it looked like Jace's mind was being ripped from his skull and the more Nathan tightened his grip the more Jace cried out in pain.

"Nathan, you must stop right now!" Nathan released his grip and Jace's cries stopped, causing both to gasp for air. Jace was able to continue standing but Nathan felt more drained and, as a result, hunched over and placed his hands on his knees for support. Nathan was practically gulping in air as he tried to look up. Ajani was trying to help him up while Jace was trying to not fall over.

"Mind Rot," Jace said. Nathan coughed a little, and he tried to stand up straight. Jace walked over to Nathan and helped him up, "It seems only fitting, since I cast Thought Scour on you." Nathan tried to recall what Thought Scour did, but his mind was a blur at this point.

"I believe it is time we leave," Ajani said, "you must rest, or else you will pass out from exhaustion." Nathan nodded and Jace apologized to the man for the damages to his home and thanked him for crafting the gauntlet. He gave him some coins as payment and the three Planeswalkers left the house. The moment the three had passed through the door, Nathan sensed that they were not alone.

A fireball landed right in front of them and exploded as it hit the ground, forcing the three to stop and search for the source of the attack. They didn't have to search long as a ring of fire ignited about 30 feet away from the house and it erupted into a bonfire. The moment the fire died down, they could see a figure standing in the center of the fire, and it looked at them.

The figure was a tall, slender man who stood at about 5 foot 4 inches, and wore clothing similar to what the other man wore. His cloak was open to reveal a torn and singed tunic that covered red skin. His face was twisted in an evil, devilish smile and his eyes burned yellow.

"Go, now," Ajani said to Jace, "I shall deal with him." The man looked at Ajani, his smile fading to a slight frown, and a small red flame appeared over his shoulder.

"Nathan, run!" Jace shouted. The two ran deeper into the town, but the man kept his attention on them as he threw a fireball in their direction. Jace pushed Nathan away as the fireball landed between them, causing Nathan to fall and scramble to get back up. The man's smile returned as he began to quickly walk towards him.

Ajani rushed him, but he created a wall of fire to stop him from approaching any further. The wall died down to reveal a group of small devils, which cackled and began to jump onto Ajani. The leonin roared as he grabbed at and threw the little devils off him, but they kept coming back to pull at his mane and bite his arms.

Jace was busy with his own group of devils, using illusions to keep them at bay. Nathan continued to run as his pursuer quickened his pace. He spared a glance behind him, only to trip on something in the ground and fall, twisting his ankle. His pursuer finally caught up with him and he grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him up to his feet and off the ground.

"So you're the new Planeswalker?" He hissed, his breath smelling of sulfur. Nathan tried to get free but it only made him laugh. "And here I thought you'd be something great, but your nothing more than a child." He threw Nathan forward, causing him to scream as he flew through the air, crashed into a nearby marble fountain depicting an angel, broke the statue, and fell into the water.

"Nathan!" Ajani shouted, finishing off the last of the devils and running full speed at the man. Nathan gasped for air as he tried to stand up in the fountain. His body ached everywhere, especially his legs and back, which made it even harder to get up. As he stood, he saw Ajani rush the man, only to be stopped by another wall of fire. Nathan stood up on shaky legs, his eyes trained on the mystery man. He watched as he turned towards him once again, his devil smile at its widest.

_ 'Come on, Nathan,'_ he thought to himself, _'don't give up now. You're on your own and you need to save your own ass, so do it.'_ He began to feel the spiritual pressure from before build up, and he stepped out of the fountain. The man watched Nathan move, as Nathan watched him stand there, and when Nathan stopped they were about 15 feet apart.

The pressure reached its peak as Nathan raised a fist and slammed it into the ground, causing a small earthquake. All around him the ground began to change: the ground to his right split open to reveal a pool of magma, to his right the ground liquefied, and behind him a line of jungle trees sprouted and grew.

"This is going to be fun," the man said, a red flame appearing over his shoulder. "Prepare to face the full fury of Tibalt, the Fiend Blooded."

* * *

***-This simply signifies that Nathan's powers have become more focused and amplified.**

**Okay, so I know that was quite possibly the worst way to introduce Tibalt into the story, but honestly I felt like some people might not get who he was because he's not all that well known. For those of you who don't know who Tibalt is, he is a red-aligned planeswalker from Innistrad. **

**According to the MTG Salvation wiki, he was once a human who performed experiments to see how far living organisms could withstand pain. His work didn't go unnoticed as he attracted the attention of devils-who gave him more knowledge about his obsession with pain-and his neighbors-who began to whisper rumors about him. His spark was ignited when an Inquisitor and a group of holy warriors caught Tibalt red-handed with devils and torture devices in his laboratory and was sentenced to execution. Tibalt then cast a spell that fused his essence with the devils around him, granting him power but also making him experience all of the suffering he had inflicted upon others. The trauma ignited his spark and he was flung across the Blind Eternities, but he eventually returned to Innistrad.**

**I was originally going to have Sorin Markov be the one to approach them, but then I thought Tibalt would be much more menacing. By the way, did anyone else know that Sorin controls white and black mana? I always thought he controlled blue and black, but hey Orzhov colors work too. Anyways, next chapter will be Tibalt vs. Nathan and I hope you will all get pumped up for it, because it will be more than 5,500 words. Until then, R&amp;R, PM, and I'll see you all next time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright boys and girls, welcome to Chapter 7. This is where it gets interesting. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I hope you're ready for the long haul, cause this is a long chapter just for you. So R&amp;R, PM, and enjoy yourselves.**

* * *

Chapter 7

A second flame appeared over Tibalt's shoulder, and both flames disappeared as his body glowed red. A large flame erupted in front of him and a devil-like creature jumped out. "I call on my Torch Fiend (2/1), and pass the turn to you."

The land forms around Nathan, the Savage Lands, soon sprung to life and Nathan concentrated on a mana source. A small green orb began to circle him and Nathan shouted, "I tap into my Savage Lands for black mana," as he said this the magma and trees seemed to lose their energy as the swamp began to bubble and boil, "along with one green mana to summon Drudge Skeletons (1/1)!"

The green orb flew into the swamp, which was steaming now, and a group of skeletons walked out of the swamp as if they had been rotting there all this time. They were armed with iron swords and shields, one leading a skeletal horse out of the swamp."Your move, Tibalt."

The half-devil smirked as three flames now appeared over his shoulder. "Torch Fiend, attack him!" The devil snarled at Nathan, creating a fireball in its hand before jumping into the air.

"No guard," Nathan said, and the devil hurled its fireball at him, causing weak damage to him as he cringed in pain.

**Nathan: 20-2=18**

Nathan brushed off the pain as his turn began. He added a Mountain, giving him three mana sources, and found a creature he could summon. "I again tap the Savage Lands for black mana, and use one green and one red mana in order to bring forth Sprouting Thrinax (3/3)."

The red and green orbs once again flew into the swamp as it began bubbling, and a large reptile quickly crawled out of the swamp. It had scales that looked similar to seeds that jutted out of its hide and it snarled, baring several small but sharp teeth.

"And since you can't guard with Torch Fiend, my Skeletons are free to attack!" The small skeleton army charged at Tibalt, who hardly flinched as they attacked and dealt only a bit of damage.

**Tibalt: 20-1=19**

As the skeletons retreated, a fourth flame appeared over Tibalt's other shoulder, signifying he had four red mana available to him. "Torch Fiend, attack him now!" Again the devil created a fireball in its hands and it jumped into the air.

"Sprouting Thrinax will guard!" The reptilian crawled in front of Nathan as the devil threw its attack, and the fireball merely glanced off its hide. It looked up at the devil, and snarled as it began to fall. It pushed off the ground, leaping into the air with its mouth open wide and caught the devil in its mouth.

The devil squealed in terror as the reptilian landed and bit down on its body. It dropped the small creature and began to tear into it, tearing off entire sections with each bite. Nathan looked to Tibalt and was surprised when he saw his expression. His head was lowered, but he could definitely see a smile on his face and it sounded like he was laughing.

"What's so funny?" Nathan asked, almost afraid of what his response would be.

"What's funny," Tibalt said, raising his head as three of the four flames disappeared, "is that you've traded a small amount of damage for a larger amount." He raised his hand to the sky, "I cast Brimstone Volley!" The sky grew cloudy and Nathan looked up to see several fiery objects falling from the sky.

"Since you destroyed my Torch Fiend, the damage you take is increased." Nathan crossed his arms in defense as the flaming rocks fell on him, taking a chunk of life away.

**Nathan: 18-5=13**

After they stopped falling Nathan lowered his arms, patting out a few flames on his sleeves, and the turn shifted to him. He received another basic land and added it. "I add a Swamp, and then I tap my three basic mana sources in order to create an artifact."

The three colored orbs circled his head one last time and then flew into the ground on his right. The ground parted as a stone obelisk rose from the ground. "The Obelisk of Jund acts just like the Savage Lands, providing me with either black, green or red mana. I won't use it this turn, and instead I'll have Sprouting Thrinax attack you!" Since Tibalt had no creatures to guard with, Sprouting Thrinax was free to charge and crash into him.

**Tibalt: 19-3=16**

As Sprouting Thrinax returned Tibalt straightened himself, having attempted to shield himself from the attack, and a fifth flame appeared. "I use five mana to summon the Pitchburn Devils (3/3)!" The five flames flew from his shoulder, instead of disappearing, and as they fell to the ground they erupted into a blaze. Two devils sprang from the fires, one holding a canister that glowed red.

The moment they saw Nathan, one of them snarled as the other swung its canister around. "My devils are just as strong as your lizard," Tibalt said, his usual smile twisted into a frown, "but when they die they can deal three damage to any one creature, or opponent." That made Nathan feel a bit uneasy, but he had to destroy them if he wanted to get any closer to defeating him.

Nathan began his turn and added another Forest. The new spell he could cast looked promising, "First I tap Savage Lands, the Obelisk of Jund, and a Swamp for three black mana and cast Murder!" The three black orbs flew into Nathan's gauntlet, which began to glow with a dark aura. He outstretched his hand towards the devils and they were struck by an unseen force, causing them to cry out and fall.

The one that held the glowing canister threw it before falling and Tibalt said, "Since you destroyed them, I'll have the devils destroy your creature." The canister fell onto Sprouting Thrinax, which shattered and released the magma contained inside. It cried out in pain as the magma caught fire and it was immolated. "You are left with nothing to protect you," Tibalt said, a small smile on his face.

"I don't think so," Nathan replied. "Just like your devils, my Sprouting Thrinax also has an ability that activates when it dies." Three pods grew from the ashes of the former creature's remains, "When it dies, three smaller creatures are born from its remains, called Saproling Tokens." The pods sprouted and three small humanoids formed entirely out of plants took their place on the field (1/1) (1/1) (1/1).

"But they won't be alone, because I tap two Forests and One Mountain in order to summon the Wolfir Avenger (3/3)!" There was a howl in the distance, prompting Nathan to look towards the forests beyond Thraben. There was silence for a few seconds as a wind began to pick up, even the Saprolings stopped moving to listen.

All of a sudden something leaped through the wall of fire behind Tibalt, barking and growling as it stopped in front of Nathan. It was a wolf, a big one, and it stood up on both its hind legs to show it was in fact a werewolf. It gave a long howl as it glowed with a pure aura. After it stopped howling, the Wolfir looked at Nathan and nodded, making him give a small smile.

"Okay, with no creatures left for you to guard with, my Skeletons and Saprolings will attack you head on!" The four weaker creatures charged at Tibalt and struck him all at once, taking away another fraction of his life energy.

**Tibalt: 16-4=12**

Tibalt pushed the four creatures away, their attacks all striking his crossed arms. He growled as embers began to spark around his feet, "You think you can win with such pitiful creatures?" This time a black flame* appeared along with the other five red flames over his shoulders. "You can attack me with your smaller creatures, hoping to build up damage over time, but by then I'll have burned you into smoldering cinders!"

Four of the flames went out and Nathan's Obelisk began to glow orange. Nathan sensed what was about to happen and shielded his eyes before the Obelisk exploded and chunks of rock hit his arms and face. After lowering his arm, Nathan saw the red and black flames go out, and a group of goblins appeared from a flash-fire.

"Say hello to the Goblin Deathraiders (3/1)!" The goblins hissed and shouted at their opposition, but Nathan stood strong as his turn began. The new spell surfaced and Nathan knew this could turn the tables. A new green orb surfaced, adding to his already large source of mana.

"I tap one Swamp, three Forests, and a Mountain," Nathan began as he felt a dark aura build up inside him, similar to when he cast Mind Rot on Jace. The ground began to crumble as a large hand broke through, seemingly intimidating Tibalt. "With five mana, I summon the Zombie Goliath (4/3)!" The hand was attached to a rotting arm, which was attached to the rotting corpse of a giant. It moaned as it pulled itself out of the ground, and Nathan shouted, "Drudge Skeletons, Wolfir Avenger, and Saproling Tokens, attack him now!" The creatures charged their opponent, but Tibalt guarded the Wolfir using his Goblins.

One of them pointed a spear at the Wolfir, and the others charged where they were commanded to go. As the Saprolings and Skeletons passed by, the Wolfir struck down most of the Goblins before their leader stabbed its chest. It gave one last howl before striking down the last Goblin and then falling. The creatures that got through struck Tibalt again, and he pushed them away once again.

**Tibalt: 12-4=8**

The Wolfir faded away and Tibalt's turn began. Another flame ignited, red like the others, and three more went out. "I call the Crossway Vampire (3/2)!" Another ring of fire erupted, and this time a female figure appeared. She looked human, but her eyes glowed red in the dark and when she smiled she showed off her fangs.

"Normally, her ability prevents an opponent's creature from blocking this turn, but since I had to sacrifice my Goblins to guard against your attack, I must end my turn."

Nathan's turn began and he was granted another Forest. He decided not to add it now, and instead decided on another attack. "All creatures, attack!"

"Crossway Vampire, block that Goliath!" Tibalt's vampire sprang into action, jumping up to the zombie's head and thrusting a fist into its open skull. It pierced the brain, causing the zombie to roar in pain and then swat at the vampire. It struck her hard and sent her crashing into the forest behind it. Unfortunately this only caused more trauma to the Goliath's brain and it fell, breaking apart and fading away as the others took more life away from Tibalt.

**Tibalt: 8-4=4**

Tibalt was breathing hard now. _'One more attack and he'll be done for,'_ Nathan thought to himself.

Tibalt paused for a moment, but for a while nothing happened. It was like he was considering defeat. Five of the red flames disappeared, and Tibalt calmly said, "I'll pay five mana in order to play my own artifact." After a few minutes, nothing happened, Nathan looking around to make sure it wasn't hiding anywhere.

"Well," Nathan asked, after he stopped looking around, "where is it?"

Tibalt only responded with, "In due time. For now, it's your move."

Nathan wondered if he was actually being serious. He had no creatures to defend with, and with the new creature spell he got this turn there was little chance he could survive an all-out attack. "All right, then," Nathan said, a green orb added to his mana pool. "I tap one red mana plus three green mana in order to summon a Lightning Elemental (4/1)!"

A single lightning bolt struck the field, and it spread out and shaped itself into a humanoid form. "Lightning Elemental also has a very useful ability, called Haste, which allows it to attack even when it's first summoned to the field."

_ 'Even so, I should hold back one of my creatures in case he does pull something.'_

"All right, Saprolings and Lightning Elemental, attack Tibalt now!" The three Saprolings went first, hitting him all at once and then being pushed back by Tibalt without much effort. Then the Lightning Elemental attacked, shooting a bolt of lightning straight at him and kicking up a bunch of dirt and dust. After the attack it was silent.

Was it over?

Had he won?

A sudden chuckle said otherwise and the dust settled to reveal Tibalt still standing.

**Tibalt: 4-3=1**

"It's over, that final attack should have done you in!"

"Not quite," he replied. "If you'll remember, I still have the artifact I played last turn." Nathan's eyes widened; did he have something that increased his life, or could he have stopped the attack altogether?

"It's called Crumbling Sanctuary, a very old artifact." The name did sound familiar to Nathan, but he couldn't remember where he knew it from. "If I were to take a certain amount of damage, I simply have to exile spells from my library."

**Tibalt: Exile 4 from library to prevent 4 damage**

He tapped his head as he said that, "In other words, as long as I have spells to cast I'm still alive." Nathan could hardly believe it, one minute he had him and the next he pulled through and survived like a roach.

**_'Nathan.'_** When he heard the voice, Nathan looked at his Lightning Elemental, noticing it was looking at him.

_'Did it just...talk?'_

_**'You need not fear,'**_ the voice said, Nathan still unsure if it came from his creature, _**'I have faith in you. You just need heart.'**_

That's what Justin said when Nathan was younger: _'The game is one part chance, one part skill, and one part heart. Take away any one of those, and you'll find yourself losing every time.'_

"I understand," Nathan whispered. He looked to the Saprolings, who nodded at him. Nathan smiled, then looked to Tibalt who had a confused expression on his face. "Your move, Tibalt."

Tibalt snapped out of his expression and glared at Nathan. _'Since Crumbling Sanctuary mills the player's library, it's really down to a matter of dealing the most damage and doing it fast.'_

"Miracle," Tibalt said. Nathan looked up at Tibalt, who was smiling.

"What? What did you say?"

"Miracle. It's a rare and powerful condition for certain spells, such as the one I just gained. Normally I'd have to pay five mana, two of which would have to be red mana, but with this I only pay less than half the cost!" That did not sound good at all, especially since Tibalt was making it sound like a really powerful spell.

"So allow me to demonstrate the power of this spell; Reforge the Soul!" One red and one black flame went out, and Tibalt was suddenly engulfed in flames. Nathan looked down at his own feet, and saw his own body ignite in flames and cried out in surprise. He kept his eyes shut as the flames washed over his body, but opened them when he realized there was no pain at all. The flames actually felt soothing, as if they were cleansing his body of all negative feelings.

Once the flames disappeared his mind began to fill with new spells, mana sources, and creatures. _'Reforge the Soul, it gives us new hands to work with. I only had one spell in hand, but Tibalt-I don't think he had any cards in his when he cast that spell.'_

"Ah yes," Tibalt said, making Nathan look at him with a worried expression, "This is good." Another red flame, totaling to seven red and one black flame over both of his shoulders. "I pay one mana to summon Forge Devil (1/1)." After one flame snuffed out, another devil creature, smaller than the Torch Fiend, appeared on the field.

"Now then, when Forge Devil enters the field, it deals one damage to a creature on the field and one damage to me, which will come out of my devil turned to Tibalt and extended a hand to him, drawing out a small flame from Tibalt's chest.

**Tibalt: Exile 1 from library to prevent 1 damage**

After harnessing the flame, the devil threw the fireball at the Lightning Elemental, causing it to hiss and explode. "Now I pay three more mana to cast Brimstone Volley! And because your creature died, the damage is increased!" Nathan looked up as more flaming debris fell down on him and took a chunk out of his life.

**Nathan 13-5=8**

"Now I'll tap one red and one black mana to summon Torch Fiend (2/1)!" The devil that Tibalt summoned earlier in their battle reappeared, smiling upon seeing Nathan. Nathan began his next turn, and the new spell caught his eye.

_'Primal Surge...I can't cast it right now, I don't have enough mana.'_ He looked through his new options he gained from Tibalt's spell, and found another land among them.

"Guess I have to start somewhere." Nathan lifted up his hand and punched the ground again, just like he did when he summoned the Savage Lands, and the ground began to shake again. As the ground split open again, curved bricks and a statue in the shape of a large beetle began to rise from the ground. "Courtesy of Ravnica, say hello to the Golgari Guildgate!" Tibalt seemed impressed by the new structure, and Nathan continued, "I can't use it this turn, but I still have more mana to work with. So I'll tap the Savage Lands for black mana, as well as one Swamp and One Mountain in order to cast Murder."

He extended his gloved hand as the necessary orbs flew into the gauntlet and shot out at the Torch Fiend, destroying it. "Now I'll have the Drudge Skeletons and Saprolings attack you!" The four attacked Tibalt, but the Skeletons were blocked by the remaining Forge Devil killing them both. The remaining Saprolings struck Tibalt but it barely did a thing.

**Tibalt: Exile 3 from library to prevent 3 damage**

Tibalt chuckled as Nathan passed the turn, and Tibalt began his. Another red flame appeared on his shoulder, and six went out. "Come forth, Gang of Devils (3/3)!" An inferno ignited in front of Tibalt this time, and Nathan had to hold an arm over his face to try and block some of the heat.

Three devils appeared this time, but unlike the Torch and Forge Devils, they were all human sized and were very muscular. "Now, I tap one red mana and cast Pillar of Flame!" The ground below Nathan began to glow red and the moment he looked down it erupted into flames, causing Nathan to cry out in pain.

**Nathan: 8-2=6**

"Go on, make your move."

Nathan quickly recovered and added a Swamp to his growing mana source. "I tap two Swamps to bring out new Drudge Skeletons (1/1)." The two orbs flew to the ground and disappeared, and the ground split open for the Drudge Skeletons to come out of. "Now I tap the Golgari Guildgate for black mana, along with two Forests to summon the Giant Scorpion (1/3)." The three orbs flew next to the skeletons and converged, expanding until it broke apart and a large black scorpion hissed at the devils.

"Okay, Saproling Tokens, attack now!"

"Devils, guard against one of them!" The Saprolings charged but one of them was blocked by the devils and burned by flames, leaving the remaining two to attack Tibalt.

**Tibalt: Exile 2 from library to prevent 2 damage**

That ended his turn but Nathan felt that this fight was just beginning. Another six flames disappeared from Tibalt's shoulder and another inferno sparked to life. Another Gang of Devils appeared, and Tibalt ordered the first Gang to attack.

"I guard with the Giant Scorpion! And because it has Deathtouch it will kill your devils instantly." The devils leaped for Nathan, but the Scorpion lifted its tail and impaled the first devil, making the other two stop and land behind the scorpion and stare at their impaled brethren.

"Unfortunately, you've activated Gang of Devil's ability."

The two remaining devils looked at each other and exchanged an evil smile.

"When it's destroyed, I have the ability to deal damage to my choice of any three creatures or opponents." The two jumped and grabbed the third devil, who began to form cracks in his face and torso. "So I think I'll destroy your Skeletons and you're Saprolings!" The two devils nodded at each other and began swinging the third's body as more cracks formed on its body, as well as on their own. They tossed their friends body towards the Drudge Skeletons, and just as it was about to land in the middle of the group the body exploded.

The skeletons broke apart from the force of the explosion and the other two devils charged for the Saprolings, leaping into the air and crashing into them before exploding. "And let's not forget about your scorpion," Tibalt added. Nathan looked to his last remaining creature as it collapsed and then began to burn from the inside out. "I'm afraid that ends my turn."

Nathan began and saw he had a new creature, but he already knew which spell he'd cast. "I add a Swamp, and then..."

Nathan paused, wondering if he should play the spell. _'It could backfire, but then again it could potentially save my neck. I've got to take that risk, so here goes something.'_

"I tap out!" All of the orbs that had been circling him-four green, one red, and three swamps along with a red orb that surfaced from the Savage Lands' magma pool and a black orb coming from the Guildgate-began to swirl around Nathan and, one by one, entered the gems in his gauntlet. "With two green mana plus an additional eight, I cast Primal Surge!"

Nathan's gauntlet began to glow with a bright light, making both Tibalt and Nathan shut their eyes tightly. A single red orb flew out from the gauntlet, revolving around Nathan, and then the gauntlet lost its glow. Nathan was surprised and held up the gauntlet to his face.

"No, no, that can't be it. It must have been one of the sorceries or instants." A spell flashed in his mind before it was gone and Nathan whispered, "Mind Rot."

Tibalt began to laugh hysterically as Nathan continued to stare at his gauntlet. "Was that it? You pay ten mana just to fetch one more? That is pathetic, and you even made a show out of it." Tibalt continued to laugh as Nathan just stared at his gauntlet, expecting it to start glowing again. It never did, and Nathan lowered his arm and passed the turn.

"This is the beginning of your end, Planeswalker. I tap two Mountains in order to create the Ogre's Cleaver!" As two flames disappeared from his shoulder, another flame erupted next to the Gang of Devils, growing in length and solidifying into a large blade. The devils looked at it greedily, and one of them tried to reach out and touch it.

"Now I tap five more so I can equip it onto my Gang of Devils!" The devil grabbed the blade's handle and pulled it out of the ground, wielding it around as the other two looked on in awe. "Now their power increases!" The devil seemed to become a master at wielding it in the few seconds it held it and their power more than doubled.

**Gang of Devils (3+5/3=8/3)**

"Now, my Devils will strike you down!" The devil that held the sword roared at Nathan, who stepped back in intimidation as they jumped into the air and prepared to strike him down.

_'No, I won't survive the attack.'_ As the devils descended upon him, time seemed to slow down and the devil's roars turned to slow growls. His mind wandered to the artifact Tibalt played, Crumbling Sanctuary. His mind then drifted to an old memory he had of when he played against his brother.

Nathan remembered that his brother had swarmed the field with several token creatures, and he also had an artifact in play. Nathan had only a few creatures, but it wouldn't be enough to block all of them. _"Alright, I attack you with all of my creatures, and sweep for 11 damage."_

_ "I block your centaur and rhino tokens with my Saprolings, blocking seven damage."_ Nathan received the last four damage which left him at only one life, and the turn passed to him. He untapped and drew, and the card he picked up was the same one as his brother's.

_"Okay, I tap five mana to play Crumbling Sanctuary!" _

His brother looked at him oddly and said, _"Why'd you play that?"_ Nathan asked what he meant, _"Well I already have a Crumbling Sanctuary in play, and it affects all players." _

_"Really?"_ He nodded and picked up Nathan's copy of Crumbling Sanctuary.

_"Here, see? "For each one damage that would be dealt to _a_ player", it means that any player can use its effects as long as they can exile the top card of their library for each point of damage they would have taken."_

Nathan snapped back into reality as the devils crashed into him and he held up the gauntlet in defense. The cleaver struck the gauntlet but Nathan stood his ground and pushed them away. It stung, but Nathan knew he was still in the game.

**Nathan: 6-5=1; ****Exile 3 from library to prevent 3 damage**

"Looks like your artifact is helping me now," Nathan said enjoying the unhappy sneer Tibalt gave him. "I believe it's my move," Nathan continued, "So I'll add another source of mana." Nathan punched the ground for a third time and the ground split apart next to the magma. A large structure rose from the ground, smoke rising from the center.

"Behold, the Temple of Malice," Nathan said, his eyes glowing a soft blue.

"What's happening?" Tibalt asked, unsure of what was going on.

"It's called scrying. Thanks to Temple of Malice appearing on the field, I can take a look into the future and choose to keep it there, or send it further into the future." It was a Mountain, and Nathan simply said, "I'll send it into the future. But for now I'll tap for three black mana and two red mana to summon Halo Hunter (6/3)!"

The necessary orbs flew into Nathan's gauntlet, the first time it did so for summoning a creature, and Nathan felt the dark aura build up again. It was greater than when he cast the Murder spells, and he felt like his body was about to give out from all the physical stress. Finally, it began to rise up and out of his body as a dark form took shape on the field. Once it had finally left his body, the creature was fully formed and both Tibalt and his devils stepped back from sheer intimidation.

Its skin was black, gray and pale blue, with spikes protruding all over its backside; in one hand it clutched a bloody angel wing and in the other it held two golden halos. Nathan passed the turn to Tibalt, who hesitated for a moment before one of his flames went out.

"I cast Pillar of Flame!" The ground around Nathan began to glow red again, as did his gauntlet, and the ground exploded in flames.

**Nathan: Exile 2 from library to prevent 2 damage**

After it died down, Tibalt's devils jumped into the air to attack. "Halo Hunter, guard the attack!" The demon looked up at the three devils as they descended upon it, and with a growl it swiped at all three with a clawed hand. It sliced the devils into ribbons, but their remains turned into magma which fell onto their target, making it roar with pain before it fell and burst into flames. The flames raced towards Nathan, who held up his arms in defense as the devils effect burned three more spells from his mind.

**Nathan: Exile 3 from library to prevent 3 damage**

Already his mind was starting to go fuzzy, but Nathan shook it off. It was his turn now and he couldn't afford to waste any time. Nathan added a Forest, but it was all he could do for now and the turn went back to Tibalt.

Three flames were extinguished from Tibalt's shoulder, and for a moment nothing happened. To Tibalt's left there came a howl and a large wolf leaped onto the field. "The Kessig Wolf (3/1). He will serve me well, but for now it's your move."

Nathan gained a new creature spell, one that he was very familiar with, and he did not hesitate to summon it. "I tap four Forests to call Wildheart Invoker (4/3)!"

The orbs flew away from Nathan and converged to form a portal, from which a female elf riding atop a large reptillian creature jumped through and circled around so they came to stop a few feet away from where Nathan stood. "Your move, Tibalt."

As Tibalt's turn began, Nathan noticed the wall of fire was dying down and noticed Ajani and Jace still fighting the devils. The problem was that whenever they struck a devil, two more appeared to take its place, and they resorted to summoning their own creatures to prevent being overwhelmed. A bell sounded, and Nathan's attention returned to Tibalt.

He was holding a small bell shaped object, and even though it was hard to see it distinctly looked like a horned skull. "The Ghoulcaller's Bell," Tibalt said, looking down at the small artifact. "Simply by ringing this bell, I bring the both of us one step closer to defeat. Of course, I'll bring you closer to defeat by attacking with Kessig Wolf!" The wolf howled and ran for Nathan, who held up his gauntlet in defense. The wolf pounced and bit down on the gauntlet, trying to break through and harm Nathan. He simply threw the wolf off with a large push, making the wolf whine as it landed on its side and retreat back to its master.

**Nathan: Exile 3 from library to prevent 3 damage**

Nathan's turn began once again and Nathan could see Ajani and Jace were finishing up the last of the devils, seemingly unable to multiply any further. His attention was drawn back to his new creature spell, and the moment he saw it a plan began forming in his head. He counted up his mana sources, and found that he had enough to cast two powerful creatures. Tibalt's smile soon found its way onto Nathan's face, making Tibalt grow uneasy.

"I tap three Mountains and two Swamps," Nathan shouted, and out of the corner of his eye he could see people in the houses looking through windows and doorways at the battle that was unfolding, "and summon the Valakut Fireboar (1/7)!"

The five orbs converged and erupted into flames, and a large boar jumped out of the fiery circle. It was cloaked in flames, and Nathan shouted, "But I'm not done there, Tibalt! I'm only getting started!" Tibalt was intimidated by his claim, and Nathan's smile grew wider and wider. "Because Wildheart Invoker is a green creature, the next one I'm about to summon will cost one less mana to call." Tibalt stepped back, and Nathan noticed Ajani and Jace were watching him."I pay a total of seven green mana: five from the Forests, one from the Golgari Guildgate, and one from the Savage Lands!" The mana pooled into Nathan, and he felt the spiritual pressure build up more than it ever did before.

"I summon the Khalni Hydra (8/8)!" Nathan hunched over and began to shake violently as mana began to pour out of his body. He cried out in pain, which was joined by a loud roar, and a reptillian head sprouted from his back. More heads sprouted, each roaring as they struggled to get out. A total of eight heads sprouted, each connected to a long serpentine neck. Two arms sprouted from Nathan's back, who continued to cry out, and the arms began to work to pull the creature out further. A long body followed, and the last of the creature slithered out of Nathan, who nearly collapsed from summoning the creature.

The eight heads snarled and roared and Tibalt, who was frightened at the scene that had just unfolded in front of him and even more so by the creature that opposed him. Not only that, but Jace and Ajani were motionless and the citizens in the buildings had fled from the openings in their houses, not wanting to watch another second of the fight. Nathan stood up, the smile gone, and he ordered Wildheart Invoker to attack.

His creature obeyed, striking the planeswalker out of his terrified state and ending Nathan's turn. But even when Nathan's turn ended, Tibalt just stood there, unable to do anything.

"Can't make a move?" Nathan asked. "Then I guess it's time to finish you off. I tap for eight mana and activate Wildheart Invoker's ability!" The elf shaman raised a staff, and a glow spread towards the Fireboar. "By paying this cost, I can give five power and toughness, along with the ability Trample to any of my creatures. So I'll give them all to Valakut Fireboar!"

**Valakut Fireboar: (1+5/7+5=6/12); Trample**

"Oh, and when Valakut Fireboar attacks, his power and toughness are swapped."

**Valakut Fireboar: (12/6)**

"Bottom line, you're staring at 24 points of damage!"

Tibalt snapped out of his surprised state and shouted, "Kessig Wolf, guard the attack!" His wolf stood at attention, but Nathan already knew it was over.

"All creatures, attack!" They all charged at once, the wolf charging in an attempt to stop them but it wasn't enough. Three of the hydra heads caught the wolf and began devouring it, while the other five heads continued to charge. Tibalt shouted one last time in defiance, and the resulting attack caused an explosion.

**Tibalt: Exile 15 from library to prevent 21 damage: library empty.**

**Tibalt: 0**

Tibalt was thrown back, rolling as he fell and landed face-down. He struggled to look back up, but when he did he growled in defeat and disappeared in a fiery blaze. The hydra roared in triumph as all of Nathan's creatures began to disappear, the other landforms that he had summoned also returning to the ground. Once everything was gone, Nathan looked up to where Ajani and Jace were.

He gave a small smile before his mind grew cloudy and he began to fall backwards. He could hear their muffled cries as he landed on his back, and Nathan's eyes closed.

"So...tired," Nathan whispered as he felt someone pick him up and everything went black.

* * *

***-Yes, I know I said Tibalt was red-aligned, but for the most part it was just an experiment.**

**That concludes chapter 7. I am really sorry if the flashback seemed unnecessary, but this chapter took me an entire weekend to write, and some of them were written while I was half asleep. For now, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, R&amp;R, PM, and I'll see you guys next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everybody, I have written the next chapter for Challenge of the Planeswalkers. Now for those of you who don't know me that well, I'm the kind of person who enjoys a movie/book/FanFiction for the story itself, so it only makes sense that when I write my stories I go for making a good story as well. My earlier work wasn't all that good, especially since I looked back on my first story after more than two years of first publishing it, but over time my stories have gotten better, more sophisticated, more engaging; I try to make my stories more enjoyable for readers.**

**So, what did I do to make this story more enjoyable for you readers? Well as it turns out, Magic has had its own plot since at least the Innistrad block, as they have released books-actual books, by the way-and not just comics. Heck, they're even planning to make a movie franchise as big as the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter franchises. Anyways, I did a bit of research on some plot events and I tried implementing a few of those into this story: such as the one below.**

**So without further ado: Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

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Chapter 8

_Flashes of white, green and red. _

_"You cannot kill me, I am a god!" _

_"Elspeth! Now!" _

_A roar of pain._

_ "It is done!" _

_The red light dies down, and yellow takes its place._

_ "Elspeth! No!"_

_ The white begins to fade now. _

_"Back! Get back! You will not take her from me!" _

_The yellow and white fade completely away, leaving only a faint green light. _

_The light expands. A leonin kneels on the ground, facing away from a broken throne. It holds something in his hands, a white cloak with golden embroidery. He clutches it in his hands and lowers his head. Nathan walked forward, towards the leonin, but stops a few feet behind him. _

_"Ajani?" __The leonin is unresponsive, and Nathan tries walking forward again. Just as he reaches the leonin it disappears, dropping the cloak to the ground. Nathan kneels down and picks the cloak up, examining it. The area around him darkens and the cloak vanishes, leaving him in darkness._

* * *

"Nathan?"

He hears a voice, but can't find the source.

"Nathan?"

It speaks in a sing-song voice this time, and Nathan sees a sliver of light in front of him.

"Nathan, it's time to wake up."

Nathan's eyes snapped open, and he was greeted by the face of a smiling girl.

"Hello," she said in the same sing-song voice.

Nathan suddenly jerked awake, sitting up, and the girl pulled back to avoid colliding heads with him. "Who are you?" Nathan asked, noticing he was back in his room at the apartments.

"I'm Becca, you're new roommate." The girl smiled and held out her hand.

Nathan stopped looking around and stared at the girl. She had long copper hair that stopped halfway down her back, with two braids that framed her face and hid her ears. She wore a white t-shirt with a paint splatter design, depicting light yellow, sea foam green, and baby blue paint splatters all over the front of the shirt. She also had light blue shorts on and ankle socks, but she had no shoes on.

"I hope Lindsay told you about me, otherwise this is pretty embarrassing." Nathan remembered that Lindsay mentioned he would be getting a new roommate and he calmed down a bit.

"Yeah, she mentioned you." Becca smiled and Nathan continued looking around his room.

"Is something the matter?"

Nathan stopped and said, "No, I'm fine. Just had a bad dream is all."

Becca smiled and said, "Well that's good to hear. Anyways, I'm going to be bringing more of my stuff up pretty soon. I'd appreciate some help if you don't mind." She began to leave the room, smiling at Nathan before she did, and Nathan waited until she was gone before he moved.

After she closed the door, Nathan pulled off the covers, noticing his gauntlet was no longer on his arm. Looking to his right he noticed his deck case was on top of the small dresser next to his bed. He grabbed it and pulled out his cards, making sure everything was there. After confirming that nothing was missing, Nathan slid out of bed and began to change. Considering Becca's choice of clothing, and by the fact that it was already morning, Nathan figured it must have been Saturday or Sunday.

Since it was the end of September the weather was supposed to get chilly, so Nathan pulled on a short sleeve shirt and jeans, slipping on a pair of sandals. He walked out of his room, noticing a few boxes and tubs in the living room. Becca walked into the apartment, carrying another large box and setting it down on top of another one. As she walked out to the hall, Nathan followed so he could help get her stuff moved in. They walked to her car and Nathan grabbed a plastic tub, heaving to pick up the heavy container.

Becca pulled out another box and set it on the ground, shutting the trunk of her car and picking it back up. They went back to the apartment, Nathan going slower than Becca due to the weight of the tub he was carrying, and once they entered the living room Nathan promptly dropped the tub and accidentally knocked the lid off. Sparing a glance inside, Nathan noticed a decorated box and asked Becca what was inside. Becca removed the lid to show that there was more than one box and they were all Magic related.

"Wow, quite the collection you have. I wouldn't expect you to be a player." Becca just smiled as Nathan picked up a Deckbuilder's Toolkit depicting Sorin Markov and Nissa Revane on one side along with Chandra on the other.

"Yeah, not many girls play the game, but I'm one of them." Nathan opened it and saw the box was crammed with cards, and upon pulling out a section noticed that they were mostly land cards. "I use this one mostly," Becca said. Nathan looked up at her and saw she had a deck case in her hand. "I've had this since the end of the Zendikar block, and I've been changing it as blocks come and go."

Nathan returned the toolkit to the tub and asked, "Do you play any particular colors, or do you like to experiment?" Becca was silent for a moment, apparently thinking it over.

"You play, right?" she asked him. He nodded and Becca smiled, "How about we play a few rounds, that way I can show you." Nathan hesitated for a moment, the memory of his battle against Tibalt suddenly returning to his mind.

"M-Maybe later," he stuttered, standing up. "This is everything, right?" Becca nodded. "Good, good. Well I guess I'll leave you to, uh, unpack. Unless you need any help with that, too?"

Becca shook her head, "No, it's okay. I can handle myself from here."

"Alright, well I'll be in my room. If you need any help or you need to ask a question, knock first." Nathan left to go to his room, leaving Becca to her unpacking. After closing the door Nathan flung himself onto his bed, twisting so he landed on his back. After settling into the mattress, he grabbed his deck case from the dresser and just stared at it.

Memories from the battle with Tibalt began to return: the pain, the frustration, the feeling after he fell unconscious. Then his mind came to his dream. What had occurred before he saw Ajani holding the cloak? Was it even Ajani that he saw? And what about Elspeth? What happened to her?

There was a knock at his door and Nathan got up to answer it. After opening the door, he was surprised to see Mr. Fulton standing in the doorway.

"Nathan, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine," he replied, "just a little shook up I guess." Fulton nodded and asked for entry to his room. Nathan stepped aside, sitting down on his bed, while Fulton closed the door and sat on the other bed in the room.

"How have you been since the fight?" he whispered, not wanting to attract Becca's attention. Nathan was silent, considering whether he should mention his dream. "Something is troubling you, Nathan," he said. "You can tell me, or ask me anything." Nathan looked back up at Fulton, who nodded in encouragement, and Nathan decided to come out with it.

"I had a-" There was another knock and Nathan looked at the door.

"Nathan?" Becca called from behind the door. "Are you talking with Mr. Fulton?" Nathan looked to him and he nodded.

"Yeah, I was."

"Oh, did I interrupt something? If so I can come back later."

"It's alright Becca," Fulton said, making Nathan look at him for a moment, "what is it?"

Becca opened the door and walked in, "I was just wondering if I could get a schedule for my classes?"

Nathan and Fulton exchanged looks and Fulton said, "Miss Becca has transferred to our class. She was in a different program, but now she's decided to change courses." Becca smiled as Nathan looked back to her.

"Well," Nathan said, "glad to have you. I hope you do well." She thanked Nathan and Fulton said he'd give her a schedule tomorrow on Sunday. Becca thanked him and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Now, you were saying?" Fulton asked, deciding to get back on topic.

Nathan sighed, "I had a dream last night." Fulton readjusted himself so he was more comfortable and Nathan continued. "For the first half of the dream, I couldn't see much, but I did hear voices talking."

"And what did they say?"

"I can't remember exactly, but I remember one of the voices saying a name. Elspeth." Fulton blinked and leaned back.

"After that, I saw a leonin on the ground, holding a white cloak. At first I thought it was you, but I wasn't sure." Fulton stared at the ground, letting out a sigh. "Something happened, didn't it?" Fulton nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Well? Are you going to tell me?" Fulton looked back up at him, but quickly averted his gaze once he made eye contact. "Ajani, if-"

He held up a hand and shouted, "Don't!"

Nathan jumped a little, and he heard something hit the door. Both of them looked at it and Nathan got up. He opened the door and saw a glimpse of Becca running into her room. He followed her, Fulton standing and joining him as well, but Becca closed the door in his face.

"Becca? Becca? What did you hear?" There was no answer. Fulton placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Nathan, allow me." Nathan stepped aside and Fulton gently knocked on the door. "Becca, can you open the door for me? I just want to talk to you." Fulton asked Nathan to back off. Once he did, the door to Becca's room opened and Fulton slipped in, closing right after he was inside.

Nathan decided not to eavesdrop on them like Becca seemingly did and went back into his own room. He began to look through his cards again, shuffling them afterwards, and then doing a test draw for a few "turns" before putting them back together and shuffling them again. Fulton returned after a few minutes, Becca in tow, and Nathan put away his cards.

"Everything's fine, Nathan," Fulton said. Becca sat down on the other bed this time, Fulton standing between the two of them, "Becca and I talked and I explained everything to her." He winked at Nathan, who nodded and looked at Becca. She smiled at him and Fulton continued, "I will be back with your schedule tomorrow, Becca. And Nathan," he looked at Fulton, who quickly tossed him a small box. Nathan caught it just before it made contact with his face and he turned it over in his hands.

"A gift from me. Just a little something to expand your collection." Fulton nodded and left, prompting Becca to leave as well.

"See you around," she said with a smile. Becca closed the door behind her and Nathan decided to see what was in the box. He cut the tape and took off the lid, which revealed two Fat Packs; basically booster boxes for a particular blocks. These two were labeled "Born of the Gods" and "Journey into Nyx". The latter was a new set, one that he suspected was the concluding set to the Theros block.

He pulled them out and opened the Nyx box first. He dumped the booster packs onto the bed and opened them one by one. He was both impressed and pleased by what he pulled from each pack. Two of his greater pulls were Mana Confluence, a rare land that provided one mana of any color at the cost of one life, and Keranos, the God of Storms. Nathan was most impressed by this card, especially with his effect, but he knew that unless he reconstructed his deck it wouldn't be possible for him to add it.

Nevertheless, he thought about creating a red/blue deck exclusively for Keranos but set it aside for now. Next was the Born of the Gods pack, and after a few quick pulls he found a few interesting cards, but nothing too special. There was one last pack and Nathan hoped for a good one. As he shifted through the cards, the anticipation began to build up as he passed through the commons and uncommons. He came to the very last card and peeked at the set symbol: red, the color of a mythic rare.

Nathan smiled, it had to be another God card. He slid it back so he could see the name, and his breath was taken away as he laid eyes on the God card. It fit perfectly into his deck, being two of the three colors he used in the deck. "Oh, this is so going in my deck." His smile widened as he replaced Halo Hunter with the new, much more powerful card, removing it from its sleeve and sliding in the new card.

Having this card, he felt confident, reinvigorated, and ready for anything that came his way. He wanted to go out, planeswalk somewhere, and test it out on anyone, anything.

But now was not the time, his body was still weak and he needed to rest some more. He set his newly modified deck on the dresser and lied down on his bed, pulling the covers over himself.

_'Tomorrow's going to be a big day,'_ Nathan thought to himself, but as he drifted off he began to think that they were not his own.

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**And that was Chapter 8, folks. By this time, Nathan now has the same cards that I do-yes, just like in my Duel Net story Nathan and I share the same deck and I simulate the battles myself. Okay, the only exception to this was the Tibalt battle where I frequently had to shuffle Tibalt's deck.**

**Alright I hope you enjoyed this chapter, number 9 is Currenlty in progress but it will take some time to finish. Until then, Read, Review, and I'll see you next time.**


	9. Notice

**No new chapter yet. I've been a bit busy with some other things, not just my other stories. First off, I can't remember if I mentioned this earlier, but I have been going to a local game store that's in town. There's D&amp;D, Magic, Pathfinder, Warhammer, quite a bit goes on even though it's only open four days of the week.**

**Anyways, I've been participating in Standard and Booster Draft games, so that means I'm learning more about the game and how to play competitively. What's more, I've been purchasing packs and such from the store and got some pretty great pulls: Thassa, Nylea, Mogis, Dromoka (both The Eternal and Dragonlord), the Chain Veil, and Liliana Vess (yeah, hopefully we'll see her in a future chapter). What's more, I purchased Sarkhan Unbroken (who is surprisingly Temur colored now). Oh yeah, and conspiracy (no Dak Fayden, if you were wondering).**

**But recently, Modern Masters just came out. I purchased a total of eight packs (along with three more from a Booster Draft), and holy crap there were so many good cards! Niv-Mizzet the Firemind, Nobilis of War, a foil of Etched Champion, the Eye of Ugin, I was even lucky enough to get Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre! **

**You think I was the luckiest guy in the store the way I'm going on about this. Unfortunately, I wasn't. During the draft, the player directly to my left pulled something that was unthinkable.**

**Mythic rare.**

**Foil version.**

**EMRAKUL!**

**I am not lying to you, it exists and someone now has it. Of course, it could be worse. It could have fallen into the hands of some stuck-up "better than you" kind of guy. Anyways, I think that I should have enough cards to do a simulated Booster Draft, either with Conspiracy or Modern Masters cards.**

**Also, I do have a poll set up on my profile: I'm thinking about creating a Dungeons and Dragons story between all of my OCs with myself as the Dungeon Master (or DM). I just need to know if you guys would like to see it happen (Nathan would be a Dragonborn Sorceror). I just need to get my hands on a Monster Manual and finish up everyone's characters before I can officially start.**

**Hope you guys haven't given up on me just yet, I haven't been inspired recently, but I'm going to try harder to make this all work. I'm Madness King, and I'll be signing off for tonight.**


	10. I'm sorry

I'm really, really sorry.

I know that everyone has been holding their breath, waiting for a new chapter to come out for this story along with a few others. But…I can't…not with this story. I really am sorry, but Challenge of the Planeswalkers has officially been **discontinued**, and I owe everyone an explanation as to why this is.

First of all, the main problem I have is time. Time to work on this and all of my stories, time to work out all the details, and time to bring the story together. Unfortunately, time is something I no longer have as of late.

It's been almost nine months since I started working at my old job to help pay off student debts, and since then it's been one thing after another. First, my computer broke (the display got cracked, and now I'm limited to the confines of my room, a TV screen, and an HDMI cable), then we had to move-meaning it now takes longer to get to and from work (approximately spending between 11-13 hours away from home).

Not to mention that I can hardly keep up with news about Magic itself: case in point, I didn't learn any new information about Zendikar's second set until after the new Innistrad block was announced.

Secondly, there's the ever-existing distraction that is the Internet; YouTube in particular. With what time I have, it's spent watching my favorite YouTubers or learning something new about a particular franchise. Overall, between work and this constant distraction I can't focus enough to write anything.

And, if I'm being honest with myself, the ultimatum is that… *sigh* I don't really know where I want to go with this story. I had ideas, but they were childish at best-final battle against Nicol Bolas, Nathan becoming a full planeswalker at the climax of their fight and shapeshifting into a dragon/hydra, what kind of story is that?

So…I can't continue this story anymore, not with the plans I wanted for it. Story arcs that followed the blocks to an extent, character development, I just can't keep up.

* * *

Still, I don't think it would be right for me to just drop a bomb like that and be done with it. So, here's what would have happened in summary:

Theros Arc-Nathan and Becca begin a friendly game of Magic, and they figure out each other's preferred colors: Nathan with Jund and Becca with Bant. Nathan eventually brings out a powerful monster through the Suspension ability and plays the god card he added to his deck: Xenagos, God of Revels. Upon seeing the card, Ajani (disguised as Mr. Fulton) becomes uneasy, remembering the events of Journey into Nyx as they happened prior to Theros' release.

Nathan notices, but Ajani shrugs it off (I also gave a small hint in Chapter 8, where Xenagos would still be alive through the card-yeah, it didn't work out). Using Xenagos' ability, Nathan is able to overpower Becca and wins. The following day, Nathan is approached by the man who asked about Mr. Fulton's whereabouts, but Nathan avoids him. Mere seconds later, Nathan finds himself under attack from the man, who is revealed to be Garruk (still in his cursed state from the Chain Veil). Nathan manages to planeswalk away to the plane of Theros, where he appears in Meletis. After entering a temple, and effectively losing Garruk, Nathan planeswalks back to his plane.

Unfortunately, he appears right in front of Becca-who is talking to an undisguised Ajani Goldmane. Still confused and afraid from his encounter, Nathan is unable to process the situation, and the two decide to tell him "the truth".

Becca is not native to Nathan's plane, and is also a synthetically created, inhuman being-created on the plane of Theros using the essences of alseids, nyads, dryads, and Nyx. Created by a group of priestesses, Becca was created to become a bridge between humanity and the gods to try and end the mortal-Nyx war. Unfortunately, both gods and mortals saw her as an abomination and attempted to kill her.

She was ultimately struck down by a Nyxborn, and her spark ignited due to this event. She was dropped into a new plane, specifically Ravnica (and more specifically, right in the middle of the Selesnyan Conclave). The guild did their best to heal her, and Becca recovered in time. Becca was given a place within the Conclave, having appeared within their guild and showing natural talent with white and green mana, but in time she left the guild-promising to return someday.

She managed to planeswalk back to Theros exceptionally well, and discovered that the fight between mortals and Nyx had ended. Eventually, she met Ajani who had been preaching against the gods. Becca managed to speak with Ajani and show him what she was-a Nyxborn planeswalker. Reluctantly, Ajani took her under his wing and decided to teach her about her new powers.

Becca then reveals proof to Nathan about what she is-her ears coming to a point, and her lower torso area made of Nyx. Nathan can still hardly believe this, but overall believes her story. Ajani then explains that he will teach both of them how to master their abilities.

* * *

M15 arc-After some time after Becca's origins are revealed, Ajani/Fulton calls in sick for the day and their regular class receives a substitute. The substitute, Ms. Cress, is strict and demanding. At the end of the day, Ms. Cress asks Nathan to speak with her. Once she returns from the office-and no students are around-the substitute suddenly attacks Nathan with dark magic.

Nathan is able to retaliate, but is easily overpowered. Ms. Cress is revealed to be Lilliana Vess, and isn't very impressed with his performance as a planeswalker. Using her magic, Lilliana is able to convince Nathan to become her ally and she gives him a "calling card".

The next day, Ajani/Fulton is unavailable and Ms. Cress substitutes the class. At the end of the day, Nathan stays behind once more and Lilliana tightens her hold on Nathan, convincing him to alter his deck to black/red. The third day, Nathan once again stays behind after class. However, Ajani arrives via planeswalking, and tries to break Lilliana's control over Nathan

Unfortunately, it doesn't work, and Nathan issues a challenge to Ajani, claiming it to be their "tiebreaker". Ajani accepts and he convinces them to take their battle elsewhere. The battle is taken to a desert-still on Nathan's home plane-and both are equally matched; Ajani is focused on protection and healing, while Nathan is focused on indirect damage. Finally, Nathan calls on Lilliana through the card she gave him, and after a few turns activates her ultimate ability.

All of their destroyed creatures are brought back onto Nathan's side, and Ajani-although having a large amount of life-would not be able to survive them all. Nathan issues a final attack, but Ajani responds with a damaging spell of his own, defeating Nathan. Nathan is free from her influence, but decides to keep using Rakdos.

* * *

After this…things really get weird. Mardu…Dragon Tempests...awareness…lots of stuff I can't properly put together. In any case, I hope you at least got to enjoy this final summary and once again I apologize for having to discontinue this story. I just don't have the time, nor do I have a clear idea of how this story would progress in the future.


End file.
